


The Long Road

by EternallyProfound



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Criminal Minds Setting, Drama, F/F, Femslash, Fluff and Angst, Suspense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2019-05-20
Packaged: 2019-09-28 08:05:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 33,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17179070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EternallyProfound/pseuds/EternallyProfound
Summary: Criminal Minds AU! No Will, No Kevin. Based around the start of season 6 but will largely divert.After overcoming what turns out to be a small bump in the road Emily and JJ's friendship finds itself teetering on the edge of an abyss of the unknown. An unsub forces them into situations that will force them to look harder at their feelings for one another. Will Emily break and let JJ in on the secrets of her past to try and help save herself? Or will the team find out too late?





	1. Chapter 1

Emily sighed to herself, her fingers drumming on the small plane table in front of her steadily. The tapping was quite, to the point where Emily had to strain to hear to sound of her nails scratching against the plastic over the constant hum of the plane engines. It wasn't often that she felt the need to outwardly express her anxiety or worry over a situation, but after the brief confrontation, the group had with JJ in the bullpen following the blonde's private discussion with Hotch and Strauss it was difficult not to. It was hard not to notice the observant dark eyes of Morgan watching from her right, or the troubled dazed expression that overcame Reid's natural puppy-dog look and in an effort to distance herself from the mutual feelings of unrest Emily cast her eyes out of the window to stare at the sea of clouds they lazily streamed through.

"I'll just be right back, I need the bathroom." Spencer murmured, gathering up his eccentric long coat as he stood from his chair before striding off down the aisle toward the occupied bathroom. Emily watched with mild interest as he went, eyeing the bathroom door as it opened and JJ emerged. Her hair wasn't quite as perfect as it had been several minutes before, it looked almost as if she had been crying. Emily's heart clenched in a rather unfamiliar way and she frowned as her teammate moved to seat herself across from Hotch where the two began a hushed conversation. 

"You're worried about her, aren't you," Derek observed, one dark-skinned hand reaching to push the remaining headphone away from his ear. He fiddled with a small old-fashioned mp3 player for a moment before turning to face her, one corner of his mouth quirked upwards in an almost teasing manner.

"Aren't you? I just wonder if we should do something." 

"Before it's too late, you mean?" Derek asked quietly, unknowingly completing Emily's original version of the sentence.

"If there's one thing I know, you should always stick with your gut." Rossi quipped absentmindedly. He sat in the aisle opposite them on his own with several papers scattered around him. It appeared as if he was only half tuned into the conversation, clearly engrossed in the handwritten notes that littered his table.

Emily went quiet for a moment, her hand idly passing over her copy of their current case file. It wasn't a usual case for them by any means, a girl went missing after being seen leaving a club with two younger men, both of whom claim everything that happened was consensual and that they didn't murder the poor girl. The window for the probability of the girl still being alive grew smaller with every passing hour and the team would have to pull out all the stops to try and find this girl alive.

"So what is the situation like at the local PD?!" Emily asked, making sure she raised her voice enough to be heard by everyone including Spencer, who returned from the bathroom as she finished her question and promptly placed himself across from Morgan.  

"Kate Joyce's parents are still at the station, they've refused to leave since yesterday when the suspects where detained. When we touch down JJ will be going to them, we need to keep an eye on them and if possible have them move to a hotel or their home." Hotch responded, his chair turning to show his open body language to the group, indicating he was fully involved in the conversation at hand.

"Having the parents and our suspects at the station at the same time could provide some insight for us through their interactions as well though." Rossi pointed out, the papers held loosely in his hands falling neatly onto the table as he too engaged himself in the conversation.

"Yes, our suspects are being detained in a spare cell so there will likely be a moment of interaction between the parents and the boys. We might be able to see some emotion from them that will indicate their guilt, then we could use that to further our interrogations. We can't force anything though, David." Aaron met eyes with Rossi for a moment and the two nodded in agreement. "So, Prentiss I want you and Morgan to interrogate Syd Pearson, Rossi and I will work on Jim Barrett while Reid looks at the geographical side of things. We'll need Garcia looking into everything about these two young men as well." He closed his case files and shot JJ a subtle but meaningful look, which was likely meant to go unnoticed by the others but Emily picked up on it immediately and suspected Morgan had as well.

"I'll let Garcia know." Emily offered, sliding her sleek new phone from the front pocket of her black work trousers. The anxieties that came with the choices Emily had made over the years came and went but regardless of anxieties, it was  _always_  hard for her to keep one phone or one number for too long. She passed it off to her friends as like to keep up to date with up and coming technologies, which was something Garcia adored but deep down she was really just terrified of her shadowy past finding a way of catching up to her. She unlocked her phone, passing over her current train of thought with ease and quickly found the long string of texts that made up her conversation with Penelope on this phone which was, incidentally,  _a lot_. Emily typed out a very short and to the point message to Penelope, which was the only way the bubbly blonde would understand the stoic profiler meant business, while the rest of the team chattered idly about the case in the background. Biting her lip Emily lingered on her conversation with Garcia, conflicted on whether or not to just text the blonde now and save herself the trouble of waiting around anxiously doing nothing until they touched down but the need for privacy during that particular conversation overrode her desire to unleash the tech hound early and feeling eyes on her Emily slid the phone back into her pocket, composing her features for the rest of her group. She was both surprised and yet unsurprised at the same time to find JJ's eyes on her, the relationship they had together was one Emily considered to be completely unique, wonderful even and she had always felt some sort of underlying magnetism between herself and the blonde. At the same time, JJ's blue eyes had avoided Emily's with a tenacity she had never seen before and to find her almost openly staring at that particular moment seemed incredibly unlikely.

Emily was broken from her thoughts by the changing of pressure in the cabin as the jet began it's decent and without a second thought she clipped the seatbelt into its holster and ensured its security in preparation for landing. To her left, she could see the runway as they circled around the airport. It took a few moments for the pilot to line the plane up with the runway but it felt like only moments after that that the tires touched down on the smooth asphalt with only a slight bump before rolling to a stop a few moments later. It was all hands on deck after that, Emily waited for Morgan to stand up and retrieve his go bag before standing up herself. She was pleasantly surprised to find the dark-eyed agent offering her own go bag to her once she finished righting her white blouse which had become twisted beneath her favourite blazer. 

"Why thank you, Derek. What's got you acting so chivalrous?" Emily asked, eyeing him with feigned concern as she graciously accepted the offered back and slung it over her shoulder.

"Remember what you said before? You and I both know you'll be the one to tell Garcia, you can't help yourself because there's something between you and JJ that you haven't been able to explore yet." Morgan smirked smugly as Emily glanced around fervently to check for the blonde. "Everyone's waiting outside, Em, don't worry." He added, his smirk growing slightly as he meandered off towards the open door.

Emily grumbled to herself for a moment, slightly ruffled at her friend's gentle ribbing but followed nonetheless. When she emerged from the plane her team were already waiting by the government issued SUV's and she set off to join them, her small heels clacking against the metal steps before becoming muffled by the asphalt as she stalked over to stand side by side with Morgan and Reid who both towered over her. Emily straightened her posture a little, eyeing the shadows stretching across the grey-black asphalt in the dry early evening sunlight.

"Three to a car so David and JJ you're with me, let's get moving," Hotch ordered, swinging open the driver's side door of the SUV closest to him moments later to throw his go bag inside before turning to gesture to the rest of the team. Taking the hint, Emily strode over to the remaining car and situated herself in the front passenger side with her bag at her feet allowing Derek to clamber into the driver's side and Spencer to lounge about in the back with plenty of leg room.

"Now who's being chivalrous?" Morgan questioned, raising an eyebrow at the lack of fight over who got to drive. A moment later he was throwing his go back over his shoulder into the empty seat beside Reid and belting himself in, not wanting to lose sight of the other half of the team.

"I just figured I'd let you drive this time Derek, you won't be able to fight me when I want to drive later this way," Emily responded with a half smile, enjoying the chuckle that erupted from Morgan's chest at the thought. In the rearview mirror, Emily could see Reid smiling quietly to himself, watching the scenery passing by through the tinted back window. There was something innately more  _reserved_ about the young doctor in recent weeks and Emily couldn't help but worry about him, though she knew he was incredibly smart even considered a genius that didn't mean he couldn't go through troubling times and she secretly hoped he found it in him to talk to someone about whatever he was going through.

"Gotta love Florida, shades and party weather if you know what I mean," Morgan commented, smiling at the groups of people out and about in the nice weather. In truth, if it weren't for work Emily more often than not avoided places like Atlantic Beach with its masses of tourism being one of many vacation hotspots. When it came to her personal preferences mild weather and less crowded areas were perfect and coming to places similar to where they were aroused more anxieties for her to label and file away in the compartmentalization filing cabinets of her mind.

"It's not for everyone." She noted as the SUV rolled to a stop in one of the remaining parking spaces set aside for local police department employees. "Looks like it might be a little crowded." 

"Fun fact, the weather station at Jacksonville Beach actually recorded an average of 50.9 inches of annual precipitation which is actually 10.2 inches more than was recorded in Quantico," Spencer said, gripping the strip of his brown leather messenger bag with his left hand as he trailed slightly behind. Emily allowed her eyebrows to rise slightly at the small factoid while hiding a snigger caused by the light joking that immediately burst forth from Morgan. Derek could never resist the temptation to poke a little fun at Spencer's vast sea of facts he kept filed away in that eidetic brain of his.

"Now now children." Emily barked, farther adding to the little joke they had going on. Spencer's almost squealing giggle and Derek's face as he attempted to contain his laughter proved too much for the stoic brunette and with a moment of internal disappointment Emily let out a laugh, just as the group entered the department through the employee door. A second after the small slip she had her face once again composed and began to analyse the room. Rossi and Hotch were conversing with the local police chief to the side of a closed room. Emily squinted, straining her eyes to peer through the blinds on the other side of the glass. She could make out blonde hair and a neat white blouse which she immediately recognised as belonging to JJ. She could barely make out the parents of the missing girl a few feet away through the next section of glass. 

"See this is what happens when you drive Derek, how did they get this far ahead?" Emily asked, leading the group slowly around the cluster of desks that occupied the middle of the room. Many desks were occupied with men and women of the police force all working hard on one thing or another be it computers or phone calls. It appeared as if the department were experiencing a flurry of activity, explaining the near full employee car park outside.

"Oh don't even go there, princess! Hotch managed to skate right through that red light and it changed before I could go through you know that!" Derek huffed, a slight pout working its way into his features. Emily rolled her eyes and smiled playfully at the man's antics, where it not for how different the two looked Emily was sure people might think they were brother and sister the way they acted around one another. Not that Emily minded at all, being an only child it as somewhat of a godsend to find someone willing to take up the role of honorary sibling and Morgan took up the role with extreme ease whether it was because of the way the two just clicked or because the man had a predisposition for acting brotherly towards women he grew close to Emily couldn't say but all in all she was quite happy with the situation.

Seeing the tiny amount of frustration showing through in Morgan's speech Emily couldn't help herself, with a pointed look at the man she turned to Spencer and shared a smile before badly hiding her mouth behind her hand and pretending to mouth something to the somewhat bemused doctor, who caught on rather quickly and pulled off a rather convincing fake giggle which he promptly stifled with his hand.

"What are you saying about me that's so funny?" Morgan asked, pouting fully now which looked rather odd on the large, well-built man.

"Not now Derek, we have to work!" Emily teased, her smile turning devilish as she practically watched the frustration grow on the man's face.

"I know your game, you two. I'm onto you, you just want to get me all worked up about nothing." 

"Maybe." Spencer murmured, his eyes sparkling mischievously. It was nice to see a more playful side of the lanky, loveable dork and Emily felt almost compelled to rise this reaction from the young man more often.

"There you are, detective Mathius this is the rest of my team. Meet agents Emily Prentiss, Derek Morgan and Doctor Spencer Reid." Hotch said in way of greeting, he waved at them as if to motion them closer, one sleeve of his black suit jacket riding up over the white cuff of his shirt as he did so and flashed them all a small strained smile. Emily, Derek and Spencer each shared a concerned look with one another at the strain behind the small gesture but complied nonetheless.

"It's nice to meet you, I only wish it were under better circumstances," Emily stated, taking the greying detectives offered hand in a firm shake. The brown suit and tie combination over a very faded pink dress shirt looked much more tired and weary in comparison to the stark cleanliness of Hotch's suit and Emily wondered for a moment what life troubles detective Mathius might be going through at that point in time. The wrinkled and dishevelled look of his clothes indicated that he probably hadn't changed in a day or so and Emily concluded the poor man might be too engaged with his work.

"Of course, thank you all for coming out again. I'll have a couple of my officers bring through the suspects for you to question. I was just telling your companions we've tried everything we can think of when it comes to questioning those two. Hopeful your team will have better luck." He gave them a tired smile after shaking hands with both Reid and Morgan as well respectively then headed over to a group of three officers before leading them from the room.

"We have less than twelve hours to find out what they did with her," Rossi stated, eyeing the doorway the group of men had just left through with an unreadable expression. Emily sighed to herself softly, her eyes passing over the windows of the closed room JJ and Kate's parents were set up in in the hopes of catching a glimpse of the blonde haired woman. Much to her disappointment, her searching eyes couldn't find her friend, though they passed over the figure of a tall man, Jeff Joyce, distorted slightly by the slats of the blinds. His tired eyes peered out through one of the various gaps, surveying the room outside with vague disinterest. 

"And here they come," Morgan said, his intonation flat. Emily whirled around in time to see the door flap shut behind the two men now being walked across the room. The first young man, Syd Pearson, strutted with his arms held behind his back and his head held high, a smug smile plastered over his overly-average features. He exuded confidence and it was easy to tell from one look at them that he likely lead the team. His posture and overall general appearance screamed obnoxious but he likely had a decent enough amount of intelligence, it seemed likely they would find him out to be the orchestrator. Emily shared a look with Derek, who watched their shared suspect with a raised brow and unimpressed expression. His lips were pulled into a taught line as his eyes scanned over the two. Syd's friend, Jim, who followed behind gave off the aura of someone far more reserved. He kept his eyes close to the floor and allowed himself to be led, even going as far as to make himself look smaller by shrinking into himself slightly.

Beside them the door of the room JJ and Kate's parents had been residing in flew open and Jeff Joyce came charging out, yelling almost unintelligibly about his daughter and how the two young men had abused her. Out of the corner of her eye Emily spotted the out of place misshapen metal slats of the blinds, bent by the angry hand of Kate's father as he watched the boys being brought out. Syd flinched away from Jeff and Rossi rushed forward to hold the man back, accompanied by Hotch who observed with a face of stone, willing an inconsistency to show itself. For a moment the briefest flicker of a smile flashed at the corner of Jim's mouth. Emily's eyes narrowed as she watched the boy. The moment was brief and she would have to confer with Morgan before suspecting anything.

"Mr Joyce, please. You and your wife are fatigued, I really think it would be best if you took the offered hotel room and left for some rest. Or even if you can't sleep, just to get a change of pace from being here for so long. It'll do you a world of good." Jennifer's soft voice came from beside her and as the two men were lead through to separate rooms for questioning Emily allowed her eyes to sweep back around and rest on the blonde haired agent. Mr Joyce didn't respond, only turned and sulked back into the room with slackened shoulders heavy with the weight of their recent trauma. As if sensing Emily's eyes on her, JJ turned to face her, her blues eyes searching for Emily's own dark brown ones and for a moment Emily thought she could see a new emotion shrouded in her clear blue iris's but as soon as she saw it, it was gone and then JJ was flashing her a smile before sauntering off to console Kate's parents once more. The brief interaction left Prentiss with a strange feeling bubbling in her chest and in the pit of her stomach, something she wasn't quite sure how to quell.

After a moment of staring at the door that JJ had closed behind her, Emily shook her head and turned to find the overly smug six foot form of Derek smiling down at her as if she'd just proven the one important point he would ever make. With a sass laced eye roll directed at the dark-eyed agent, Emily motioned towards the holding room with her head. "What approach are we taking with the big guy?"

"Your call Princess, local DP think they've tried everything so they've probably been pretty hard on them so far."

"Maybe we should offer them both a meal? Most  people can't eat when they've just murdered someone, based on what I've seen of the two of them this probably started out as just being a sexual thing that went too far I doubt either of them could stomach a murder." Emily offered, sorting through the facts she had about the two boys in her head.

"Sounds like a good place to start, we'll let them sweat and put a bit of heat on them before we let them have the food though." Derek agreed, one hand passing over the vibrating form of the phone in his right pocket.

"Coffee first?"

"Sure."


	2. Chapter 2

Emily sat watching the steam rise from the overly dark coffee in the plain white mug she had managed to find lurking in one of the cupboards of the small lounge area adjacent to the bullpen. She was acutely aware of the flat screen of her phone pressed firmly to her left thigh, they had been sitting with their coffee's for only five minutes leaving Syd to stew in the quite interrogation room. Emily was aware of the time frame, she knew they couldn't dawdle for fear of running out of time but her mind was still plagued with worry over JJ. She knew whatever was happening with the blonde was serious and she probably shouldn't waste any time contacting Garcia to have the tech wizard look into the problem, but at the same Emily feared what the blonde's reaction would be upon finding out Emily had gone behind her back to intervene. Or worse still, what would her team think if Garcia found nothing threatening at all. She knew the latter was far less likely, given the circumstances but that didn't stop the thought from intrusively barging its way into her mind every now and then.

"Just do it, Emily. We're all worried, did you see Hotch? He looks like he's aged at least five years since this morning." Morgan sighed, taking a large gulp of his own coffee. He had rolled up the sleeves of his navy shirt and unbuttoned two of the three buttons that the neck adorned since arriving, probably due to the high temperatures both outside and inside. He appeared to be enjoying the warm weather at the same time, though his features still had a weary edge about them.

"I know. It's just a little more difficult than I first imagined, I've had time to weigh up the possibilities now." Emily admitted, though she reached into the pocket of her trousers and retrieved her phone nonetheless. "I think I'll pop outside and call her. Do you mind watching my coffee for a minute?" 

"Of course, but you owe me." Morgan grinned and finished his own coffee with one final gulp. "Don't be too long though, 'kay?"

"Of course not, we have a suspect waiting." Emily flashed Derek a quick smile and paused for a moment, opting to take a small drink of the still hot coffee to wet her lips and mouth before leaving. It was far more bitter than she liked, but would serve to keep her energised in the coming long hours of work. With a final joking salute, Emily exited the lounge area, crossed the bullpen area by weaving through numerous groups of officers then exited through the employee door they had entered in before. There were fewer cars in the parking area now, presumably because some officers finished their shifts and others left on duty. The bright shining sun still hung quite high in the sky indicating how many hours of sunlight they still had remaining. 

With a muffled sound of anxiety, Emily unlocked her phone and once again found Garcia in her contacts. Her thumb hovered over the green call button for a minute or so before Emily managed to pluck up the courage to actually start the call. The sound of ringing overpowered the ambient sounds of birds chirping and cars passing as Emily pressed the phone to her ear. It didn't take long for Penelope to answer but the few moments before the click that indicated her call had been received felt like an eternity to the anxiety-riddled agent.

" _You've reached the technology goddess, what are your prayers for assistance today my love?_ " Penelope's bubbly voice sounded over the line. Hearing the familiar tone of voice and style of speech let out a wave of calm that rushed over Emily, calming the storm of her mind for a moment.

"Hey Pen, it's me. I need to ask a favour." Emily couldn't help the note of worry that dribbled into her speech. She could hear the rustling of clothes and the squeaking of chair wheels as Garcia rolled closer to her desk. She could practically feel the change in the blondes demeanour over the phone and she cringed internally for being the cause of the normally peppy hacker's worry and stress.

" _Of course, Em. You know you only have to ask. What's wrong?_ "

"It's Jayje, Penelope. We're all worried and I know she talked to you and asked you not to look into it but I'm scared we'll lose her." Emily cursed herself internally as her eyes began to prickle with the threat of tears.

" _You got it. I'm on it like a nerd on a collectable. Call you back when I find something._   _Stay safe for now though, okay? I promise you I will fix whatever is happening._ "

Emily allowed a small smile to work its way onto her face as the line went dead. She knew Garcia would be able to locate the source of everyone's stress, she only hoped that fixing it wouldn't hurt them all in the long run. Feeling more at ease, Emily returned her phone to her pocket and re-entered the police department. She strolled over to the lounge area and found Derek sitting right where she left him, a rather bored look on his face as he stared at the rim of Emily's cup.

"You know, you didn't need to actually stare at the cup this entire time." Emily joked, sliding back into her seat. Her mug was still warm, but considerably cooler than it had been before. With a shrug, Emily chugged the rest of her coffee down to prevent it from getting any colder. She immediately regretted the action upon feeling the liquid sloshing around in her stomach but made an effort to mask her discomfort anyway.

"I know, I just felt like it," Morgan said simply, flashing a smile that showed the pearly whites of his teeth before standing from his chair rather loudly and making his way to the door. "Let's get going then."

Emily shrugged noncommittally but made to follow the dark-eyed agent after placing her mug by the sink. It was a short walk to the interrogation rooms and Emily couldn't help allowing her eyes to sweep over the windows of the room JJ resided in hoping to see the blonde on her way past. She caught a glimpse of Jennifer standing by the door to the room with Kate's parents. It looked like she was just about finishing up and would presumably rejoin the group fairly soon which left Emily feeling elated. 

When they reached the room Syd was being held in, Derek and Emily stopped at the door. They held eye contact with one another for several minutes, neither backing down before both caved and raised a first for a round of Roshambo. At the count of three, Emily threw paper and Derek threw rock effectively ending the silent debate once and for all. With a cheeky grin, Emily waved Derek away, watching for the man to disappear into the observation room before dusting off her blazer and entering the interrogation room. The lighting was dim inside and all four walls were painted with a dark brown, adding to the dank dark feeling of the room. 

"How are you doing, can I get you anything to eat?" She asked, taking a step toward the fidgeting young man.

"Isn't it weird for you to offer me food?" Syd responded, one eyebrow quirked slightly. He looked like the type of guy who cared greatly for his appearance and opted to use charm and wit as opposed to muscle. His hair still sat spiked atop his head despite his detainment, indicating a more expensive brand of hair wax. He wore a plain grey v-neck shirt with standard blue jeans though Emily could see the brand label on the side of his pristine shoes.

"Oh, I wouldn't think so. If you could have any food right now what would you want?" Emily asked with a fake smile, forcing herself to keep her body language open and friendly.

"Well I would have you but I'm guessing that's off the table. How about a steak burger, fries and no beer so how about a strawberry milkshake?" Syd replied a cheeky wide grin spread across his face. He leaned back in his chair, rocking back and forth on two legs while he surveyed her. 

Internally Emily cringed at the boy's lack of eloquence and opted to flash a smile and nod before leaving the room in an effort to prevent herself from saying something ridiculously stupid to the arrogant boy. She stood with her back pressed to the cold stone of the wall for a moment calming herself before Derek appeared from the observation room with a frown.

"How the heck does a guy like that manage to get laid?" Morgan asked, his face scrunched up in confusion. Emily bit back a giggle at his comment. She  _could_ comment on how he always picked up chicks with his 'confidence' approach, which could quite easily be changed to 'arrogance' approach. Shaking her head to herself she followed Derek down the hallway, only stopping to ask an officer that didn't look too busy if they could pick up two orders of food for the suspects.

Emily was pleasantly surprised to find the rest of the team sitting around two tables that had been pushed together when they once again found themselves in the main body of the department. Files lay open across the table with papers scattered around them and Hotch, Reid, Rossi and JJ all sat speaking animatedly about the case.

"Did you guys find something?" Emily asked, taking the open seat next to her blonde haired friend. The two being close wasn't exactly a rarity but the close proximity in their current predicament left Emily with a fuzzy feeling forming in her stomach and she allowed a smile to shine through on her face.

"I found out that Kate's parents have already lost a son to leukaemia which led to them being a lot more protective and educative with Kate as she was growing up. From the sounds of it, Kate is a very level-headed and logical girl. It's safe to say at this point that she wouldn't have just run off with two boys she didn't know." JJ explained, turning to smile at the two new-comers. It was a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes and Emily longed for the blonde's predicament to be sorted so the stress would leave her.

"Which means we need to find the connection between them, we need to know where they met." Derek supplied, his mind working through all the facts they had gathered so far.

"Right, so Morgan you'll be coming with me we're going to check out the club that the boys named while we wait for Garcia to get back to us with more information. Rossi and Prentiss, I want you to keep working on those two, anything we can uncover that's new information will help. JJ since the parents have excused themselves for some rest and I want you to observe the interrogations with Reid." Hotch stated, laying out a solid plan for the entire team, who chorused their agreement quietly.

Hotch and Morgan left swiftly afterwards and for a brief moment, Emily tried to imagine Hotch and Morgan fighting over who would be driving, though she doubted that would ever happen.

"So what's the deal with Jim then? Syd seems to be pretty sure of himself, he's obnoxious but he doesn't appear to come from significant wealth. He's definitely a womaniser, I feel like repeat rape and assault offences would be likely for him, but kidnapping or murder? I'm not so sure." Emily rested her elbows against the hard wood of the table and rested her chin against her hand in an attempt to find some semblance of comfort.

"Jim is quite reserved, nervous even. He hasn't spoken much yet but from what he has said it's safe to say he's not the sharpest tool in the shed. I doubt he would be the instigator but you can never be too careful." Rossi replied, sifting through the papers in front of him carefully before returning them to the beige folder they came from.

"Garcia said the two have been getting in trouble together for a while. Petty theft, assault, they even apparently set an abandoned building on fire." Reid offered, taking Rossi's cue and helping to clean up the tables.

"Right, but why would they suddenly jump to kidnapping or murder from there? That's quite a big escalation." Emily responded, her brow furrowed.

"Well they were suspected for two rapes before now, maybe it went bad this time," Reid suggested as the group began to move towards the interrogation rooms.

"Alright, Rossi do you want to keep interrogating Jim? I'll take a crack at Syd and we'll see if we can find out something that'll crack this case." Emily asked as they stopped short of the first room.

"Sounds like a plan, kid," Rossi replied, showing a crooked smile before moving over to the door. "Spencer how about you look in on me?"

"Great, I'd like to see what Jim's behaviour is like when you put some pressure on him." Spencer grinned and disappeared into the observation room, Rossi following suit only moments later.

"I guess I'll be looking in on you then, Emily." Jennifer smiled, her clear blue eyes twinkling. It was the closest to a real smile the blonde had come since that morning and feeling a small sense of victory Emily smiled back, ignoring the fluttery warm feeling blossoming in her stomach.

"I guess you will, you're in for a treat with this one." Emily joked, earning a giggle-snort from her companion, who rolled her eyes and made her way over to the observation room.

"Let's get this over with then, I'd like to get Kate home to her parents," JJ said quietly, her slim hand poised on the handle to the room. 

Tearing her eyes from the radiant beauty of her companion, Emily steeled herself and composed her emotions before once again entering the dingy interrogation room. Syd turned to meet her gaze immediately upon her entering the room and she could see in the dim lighting the bags beneath his eyes indicating his lack of sleep. It shouldn't have been surprised, after all, it wasn't exactly easy to sleep in a cell but at the same time, it didn't really look like he had any other side effects of fatigue. Emily considered for a moment the possibility that the boy just had depression, or natural bags beneath his eyes as she sat down. As she studied him, she leaned more towards the possibility of him having depression.

"My name is Emily Prentiss, I'm with the FBI's behavioural analysis unit. What did you do?" Emily asked, plopping his file down onto the table before settling into the chair and levelling her gaze to meet his. She watched as he considered his options for replying.

"This, oh I had this before Friday night." He said, lifting his left hand up to wave back and forth in front of her face. The file had noted he had a lasting injury, his left hand would never be the same again, it didn't appear to bother him too much though, in fact, it seemed like he wanted to flaunt his injury.

"That isn't what I asked you, Syd," Emily responded, hardening her gaze. 

"Ah, but I know what you're thinking." He laughed, arrogance painting his words.

"I highly doubt that. Wow, division one lacrosse player and you're quite obviously left-handed."

"Broke it in three places." He murmured, his fingers tapping against the cold metal top of the table.

"Oh, that sucks. I bet you are, I mean  _were_ a force. Too bad you didn't dominate the way they'd hoped though. Why not? What happened? Were you still hung up on the chapel hill rejection? I mean you told everyone you were gonna go, that's gotta sting a little right? What's the deal?" Emily continued, hoping to push a button that would reveal something interesting.

"Shouldn't you have all that information in your little file already?" He retorted, the cocky smirk faltering as his irritation increased. 

"Let's see here, what does my little file say... Oh that's right, it says you cheated on your SATS and had your girlfriend do them for you, that's another hard lesson, isn't it? You can't trust anyone to keep their mouth shut. Why haven't you lawyered up yet?" Emily felt as if she had him on the ropes, she directed the conversation down a path that riled him up in the hopes he would let something slip and she felt as if it was all about to pay off.

"Because I haven't done anything! I slept with her, it was consensual. That's the last I saw her, I swear!" The exasperation was evident in his tone and Emily felt her bridge of progress crumbling beneath her feet, sending her spiralling back to square one with no solid progress. After watching him sit red-faced with his head hanging low, Emily stood up to leave, resigned to the fact she wouldn't be getting any solid information this time around.

When she stepped outside the room she found Rossi and Reid both waiting outside, JJ joined them a few moments later closing the observation room door behind her with a soft click.

"He isn't budging, he's sticking to the same story doesn't seem to matter how much pressure I put on him." Emily sighed, turning to meet a young female police officer with long brown hair tied back in a bun. She looked a little red in the face like she had been rushing and Emily graciously took the offered food from her. "Thank's for getting this for us, it should help." She said, smiling at the young woman who grinned in return, her hazel eyes sparkling.

"Glad I could help." She replied, before turning on her heel and marching off down the hallway in pursuit of another task.

"Rossi didn't make much headway with Jim either, maybe we need to change our approach," Reid suggested, worrying the strap of his brown leather satchel between his long fingers.

"Well we have the food, Rossi you could take it in for Syd and see if he actually eats, how he reacts. Maybe Jim will be more likely to slip up with me questioning him." Emily offered, her eyes drifting over to JJ, who stood clutching her elbow, her lip tucked firmly between her teeth. It was a cute look on JJ, but it also had Emily wondering what JJ was thinking about, effectively distracting her from the current conversation. She was vaguely aware of the hum of vibrations that came with Rossi's voice but didn't quite make out what he said. Tearing her eyes from Jennifer's form Emily sorted through the thoughts in her head and attempted to compose herself and re-engage in the conversation.

"Are you okay Emily? I was just saying it sounds like a good idea, we should get started. Hotch and Morgan should be back soon." Rossi repeated, his expression soft and concerned. Emily felt the beginnings of heat rising in her cheeks and nodded sharply before heading into Jim's interrogation room. She really needed to get a better grip on her attention and emotions.

Both rooms turned out to be laid out much the same but mirrored. With brown painted walls, white-grey flecked tiles, large mirror and metal table with dim lighting it provided the exact same environment. Inside this room, a camera sat atop a tripod on the table beeping periodically to indicate the low battery percentage.

"Isn't that beeping annoying? Do you know anything about video cameras?" She asked, feigning ignorance over the workings of the small machine.

"The battery is probably low," Jim responded, his brows furrowed in irritation. It seemed like it was taking some effort for him to keep still. Emily watched him with immense scrutiny, her eyes analysing his eyes and facial responses.

" _Ooh_ , hey guys can I get another camera?" She called, her eyes still pinned on him.

" _Wow._ " He drawled, rolling his eyes before settling them on the reflective surface past Emily's shoulder. His reactions set off that gut instinct. While Syd had been obnoxious and arrogant he had the balls to meet Emily's eyes and the fact that Jim refused to made her feel uneasy. "What is that? Roast beef?" He asked, his face scrunching up in distaste.

"Didn't anyone ask you?" Emily retorted innocently, cocking her head slightly to the right.

"No, not hungry anyway."

"Ah, I see. Neither was I until I smelt it." She chuckled, seeing his frown. "Sorry." He turned away, looking at the blank wall to the right refusing to take the bait. "So Syd has a Lexus, that's nice. Did he ever let you drive it?"

"No." His mouth straightened out into a tight thin line and his brow furrowed further.

"Yeah he's kind of a control freak, right? I met him, he seems like a jerk." She tried, taking a different approach. "It says a lot that he can eat at a time like this as well. He gets a car at sixteen but not just any car, a Lexus. I guess that's what LRB's get."

"LRB's?" He snorted, quirking one dark brown eyebrow up.

"Little rich boys."

"His dad has a car dealership."

"Do you always defend him?" She paused for a moment allowing time to answer but when it looked as if he wouldn't respond she sighed internally and resigned this route in the conversation. "Never mind, I see you have a boat. Single outboard motor, two-stroke engine. Is it fast?"

"Yeah. It gets 25 maybe 30." He replied, perking up at the question slightly. Emily took note of his reaction for later and continued her line of questioning.

"When did your family move here?"

"I dunno."

"Come on you must remember. Grade school? Middle school?" She prodded, probing for some kind of a reaction. 

"Fifth grade." 

"So you were ten, isn't that when you met Syd? You've known each other for a long time."

"What does any of this have to do with that girl!?" He exclaimed, his hand tapping against the metal table surface jerkingly. Emily narrowed her eyes fractionally. He refused to mention Kate by name, depersonalising her and was becoming increasingly nervous.

"You want to talk about Kate?" Emily continued, trying to tread a little more cautiously with her wording.

"I didn't know her!" He stated vehemently, his palm slapping against the table suddenly.

"You brought her up," Emily responded, raising her hands. She watched as he turned his head to the side, cracking his neck as he shifted his weight in the chair.

"I'm done." He stated, closing his lips tightly together then falling back against the backrest of the chair, his hands pressed firmly against the table. Seeing his stone face Emily decided to end the questioning there. She'd garnered enough to be suspicious of the boy, now they just needed to work with the new information.


	3. Chapter 3

Emily found herself tucked away in the small room they had been granted with another steaming mug of coffee. This time however Morgan, JJ and Reid were sitting with her, each with their own beverage. After her drawn out conversation with the parents and watching in on their interview's JJ deemed it time for a break and they retired. Hotch and Rossi stayed behind to speak with Syd, who seemed the more likely candidate for revealing something of value.

"I don't think Syd is going to give us anything useful, he seemed cocky but he also seems completely sure of his innocence. I just think something is off here." JJ sighed, nursing her warm mug with slender hands. Her blue eyes became clouded by the gentle steam rising from her coffee and Emily found she was unable to stop herself from staring longingly from the far side of the table. Hearing the faintest hint of a chuckle from Derek, who sat beside her, Emily quickly retired her eyes to a more acceptable patch of table and waited for the conversation to progress.

"I don't know. I think that the geographical profile so far indicates that they wouldn't have taken her very far it's just anyone's guess where they did, in fact, take her. In this kind of situation it's highly likely that the more intelligent of the two is the one who directed the crime and in this case it appears to be Syd but I think JJ might be right. Something about that seems off." Reid ranted, his long fingers playing at the edge of his cuffed sleeve.

"So what are you saying pretty boy, have we been looking at this the wrong way?" Morgan asked, resting his elbows against the cheaply laminated surface of the table. His smile was gently teasing however his eyes showed his curiosity over the situation.

"It's always a possibility..." Reid began, though he was cut off by Rossi and Hotch entering the room. Hotch sported a mild expression and Rossi looked downright bewildered. Emily couldn't stop the smile that began to blossom on her face at seeing the older man's expression, however, she quickly wiped it from her expression seeing the seriousness in his aged eyes.

"Syd demanded a lie detector test and he is giving us access to his phone so we can print out some pictures he claims are evidence," Hotch said, dramatically flopping his file down onto the table. His face was almost entirely composed except for the small lines across his forehead, indicating his irritation. Additionally, Emily could have sworn his brow was slightly more furrowed than usual, however, it was hard to tell.

"What does this mean. I don't see what they could achieve from that unless they are actually innocent." Emily pointed out, her own brow furrowing in confusion. She downed her coffee afterwards in an effort to combat her suddenly dry throat.

"There are ways to get around lie detectors it's just hard to tell if they would know how," Rossi replied, sitting down beside JJ in one of the remaining seats.

"Either way, there is a rush being put on it. We'll have the results within the hour." Hotch stated gravely.

"Okay, well I'm gonna call up Penelope and see if she can access internet history from the boys' laptops and search for anything related to lie detectors." Morgan offered, retrieving his slender black cell phone from his pocket. From where Emily was sitting she could watch as he unlocked the phone went into his contacts, scrolled and stopped on 'Soul' and hit the call button. He drummed his fingers on the desk humming a song Emily didn't recognise while he waited for Garcia to answer- which didn't take long. He pressed a button, switching the call to speaker so everyone could hear and greeted her with a wide smile playing about his lips. "Hey baby girl, we have a few things for you to look into if you're not too busy sweetcheeks."

"I-I'm not, I mean I was busy and will be busy but that's beside the point because obviously, this is my job so I am at your service my dark prince," Penelope responded, her speech tainted with evidence of how flustered she really was. Emily frowned and took her bottom lip between her teeth. It was highly likely Garcia was flustered with the task Emily had given her, which made Emily worry about how bad it may really be.

"Also check into the jet ski business as well, Syd mentioned that Kate rented a jet ski twice I want you to check that and get back to us," Hotch added with finality.

"I will get to work and attain your attention once again when I have information. Ta-ta!" Penelope retorted before the line went dead with a click.

"So Syd believes fully that it was a completely normal interaction but we haven't heard Jim talk about it much at all. We were playing about with the possibility that Jim might be the dominant." Morgan said, essentially filling Rossi and Hotch in on their short brainstorming session.

"Jim disassociated himself from Kate as well, he didn't want to say her name and he got quite suspicious while I was interrogating him," Prentiss added, pieces of the puzzle becoming clearer in her mind but not quite forming the entire picture.

"We might be able to find something from the photos," JJ noted absently. She had been steadily becoming less focused throughout the conversation and Emily could see from the movements of her arm that her hand had been periodically moving to check her phone. In a private part of her mind, she worried about the blonde. They were of a select few people to whom the job mattered almost as much as a life partner. Sure it could be tiring and tedious, but also rewarding being able to rid the world of a few more serial killers, rapists or kidnappers. Their job mattered because few people did it and though they couldn't help with every case that came through their department they still solved a significant amount. Enough to make a difference. Which sometimes was all Emily had to hold onto and she was sure that JJ felt the same, much like the rest of their team.

"It's about time that they'll be setting up the lie detector. Reid, Rossi I want you with me looking in on each session. They'll be doing them one at a time, the exact same questions. Morgan, Prentiss and JJ I'll bring the prints of those pictures in so you can look over them. Syd was very clear in saying they went out and had a good time with Kate, took lots of pictures then dropped her off at home so look out for anything at all that doesn't line up with that story." Hotch ordered. He left the room abruptly afterwards, followed by Reid and Rossi, then reappeared a moment later to drop in a stack of photos. He gave them a tired smile, his eyes lingering on JJ for a moment before he left the room again leaving them in silence.

Emily allowed her eyes to fall on the pile of photos and let out a sigh. From the looks of it they took quite a lot of pictures to document their night, more than Prentiss felt she had probably ever taken. "There are a lot of pictures here, maybe it's a way of reliving the crime." She pondered aloud, taking a small pile off of the top to examine. Spreading them out in front of her she could tell that wasn't the case.

"No way these are just normal pictures." Derek frowned, analysing his own pictures with a furrowed brow.

"Maybe but look at this, Syd and Kate are close in all of the pictures but most of the time when you see Jim he's off to the side." Emily pointed out, showing a few examples of them around a campfire to her companions.

"Okay, so that would solidify motive for Jim. He and his boy roll up on a good looking girl and he thinks it's going to be fifty-fifty only she likes Syd more." Morgan took more pictures, nodding as if they backed up the theory even more.

"Guys, wasn't Kate's phone documented at her house and taken as evidence when the police got involved?" JJ asked, staring at the picture grasped in her hands with wide eyes that screamed 'Eureka!'.

"Yes it should be in evidence holding right now, why what did you find?" Emily responded, a smile gracing her lips as she observed the blonde.

"She left her phone in Syd's car. You can see it in this picture here, look." JJ replied excitedly, thrusting the photo down in front of them.

"So Jim could have seen Kate's phone being left in the car as an opportunity, after playing the third wheel all night he might have found a way to ditch Syd, take the car and head over to Kate's. It sounds plausible but I still think they're both in on it." Morgan sighed. A moment later his phone began buzzing on the table where he left it. With a goofy smile, he grabbed it up in his large hand, answered and swung it up to his ear. "Talk to me baby, what you got for me?" He paused for a moment to allow Garcia time to speak then nodded to himself. "Alright thanks, sugar, I'll get back to you later." He cooed affectionately before hanging up.

Behind them, the door handle turned with a short, high-pitched squeak and the door swung open. Hotch, Rossi and Reid entered the room, Reid closing the door behind them. They each took a seat after, Spencer, as usual, began fidgeting with his cuffs and bag strap. Hotch and Rossi exchanged a look that Emily was sure was a covert exchange of silent words, though she couldn't make out the meaning of the two's shared glance.

"Garcia just got back to me. She couldn't find anything suspicious in their internet history. She also confirmed their story and told me Jim clocked in to work late the morning of her disappearance even though he's usually five or ten minutes early like it's a ritual."

"Right, so we're working on the assumption that Jim is the perpetrator and Syd is just a messed up young man. He mentioned the inlet is quiet around four AM when I was interviewing him, it was one of the only things he actually wanted to talk about." Rossi stated in an attempt to provoke a conclusion from the team. Emily could feel the buzzing tension growing between them, similar to other times they were nearing the end of a case. It was normally one of the more enjoyable parts of each case, however, Emily could see the unrest weighing down on JJ. It left her feeling helpless, there wasn't anything she could do to ease the blonde-haired girl's situation at the moment and what she already had done might leave them on thin ice anyway. She hoped JJ's breakthrough in the case would provide her with some kind of comfort amongst all of the worry, though she knew the blonde would breathe easier when they found Kate anyway.

"Kate rejected Jim, she was interested in Syd and it's clear in the pictures here. On top of that, JJ noticed Kate's phone in the back seat of Syd's car in this picture yet it's in holding right now. It would have given him an opportunity to get close to her, her cell phone would be as good as a free ticket in. He had access to her and his boat would provide a method of disposal." Emily continued, her eyes sweeping over to Spencer whose hair sat dishevelled atop his head.

"The GPS was removed in his boat. They didn't find any sign of Kate being in the boat because he cleaned it and removed the GPS, the possibility was pushed aside too quickly!" Reid exclaimed, sitting upright in his chair, his lips slightly upturned at the corners.

"So you think Jim dumped Kate then cleaned the boat out and removed the GPS. It makes sense. How did he do it though?" Hotch asked, his eyes locking with Emily's.

"It was easy for him. He probably had her unconscious in the boat after blitz attacking her. He'd have taken her out at about four AM when it was quiet. He said his boat gets around 25-30mph miles per hour." Emily replied, her eyes still connected with Hotch's. He nodded once then looked to Reid.

"He probably went out around seventy-five miles given his relative speed and how many miles he'd get on a full tank." Reid ellaborated, piecing the puzzly together to it's entirety.

"Her parents told me she was an excellent swimmer, she trained three days a week Kate's a survivor. We're going to find her alive I can feel it but we really need to move it's getting dark Hotch." JJ stated standing up abruptly.

"Wait, JJ. You, Reid and Rossi will stay here and try to get a confession. Prentiss, Morgan and I will get search parties out."

JJ made a face as if she considered objecting but composed herself quickly and the team exchanged murmurs of agreeance for a short moment before they moved out of the room as a party. They split into their two groups after, Emily watching the sway of JJ's perfect hips as she walked away towards the interrogation rooms. It was quite a mesmerising sight. After watching the other half of their team leave Emily and her companions began to get themselves ready. They put on their vests and rounded up the available police force. With a quick text to Garcia from Hotch, helicopters were dispatched as well.

With a visual prompt from Hotch, Derek and Emily headed outside. They climbed into their issued SUV, with Emily in the front passenger side, Morgan in the back and Hotch driving. He drove with less patience than usual, swerving around the few cars milling about the streets in an effort to get to the helicopter rendezvous point faster. They could hear the choppers overtaking them from around the halfway point, indicating they'd have a good head start in looking for Kate.

When they reached the small cliff-side some nearby police units were already there, their response time impeccable. Hotch slowed the car to a stop and unplugged his belt before turning to see his teammates.

"I'm afraid there isn't much we can do just now until they find her. I'm going to go meet up with the EMT's and make sure they're ready. I want you two to stay here, Garcia is plugged into the chopper radio so she'll call as soon as they find her."

"No worries Hotch, go do your leader stuff." Derek joked, flashing the stoic man a small smile. Hotch responded with a small smile of his own. He opened the door immediately after and swung his body out before closing it once again with a loud thump.

"Well, I guess it's just you and me Derek." Emily chuckled, leaning back against the seat.

"I guess it is, princess. You know I've been watching you watching JJ for a long time. Something changed recently, didn't it?" He asked, gently probing for a more personal side to her. Emily rolled her eyes but inwardly pondered over his words for a moment. Maybe he was right.

"Oh come on Derek, what could you possibly mean by that?" She scoffed, attempting to avoid where his questioning may lead.

"Don't avoid it come on Emily, I know you. You like JJ don't you." He stated, levelling his eyes on hers with a hint of a smile. It was as if the conversation they were having sparked a memory of something similar in his life. 

"Of course I do, she's my friend. Are you thinking about Garcia? It seems like it." Emily raised her eyebrows but moved her eyes to stare past his shoulder out of the window. It was getting dark and the tall grass was whipping around wildly in the wind. In the distance, she could see the haunting yellow beams of light sweeping over the water. She wondered how long it would be before they found Kate and if she really would be alive when they found her. She hoped so.

"Oh come on Em, you can trust me. Your eyes have shown more emotion looking at her in the past few days than I've seen from you in the time that I've known you. I love you like a sister Em but please be honest with me." His features were soft and his voice didn't sound pressing but there was something in the way his dark eyes rested on hers that was as if he were staring into her soul. It made her incredibly uncomfortable on one hand, for her most of her life she had compartmentalised expertly and managed to avoid becoming too emotionally entangled with people but being around the team was like being around the family she'd always dreamed of having grown up. She felt as if she could trust Derek and the rest of her team implicitly, she just wasn't sure she wanted to deal with the repercussions of admitting her developing feelings for their blonde liaison agent.

"Derek you know I can't answer a question with that much weight in a work setting." She sighed, running a hand through her dark hair, it wasn't really something she had confronted herself about but it was something she clearly needed to step back and analyse herself when she had free time. The telltale signs of a blossoming headache formed behind Emily's eyes and she pinched the bridge of her nose for a moment in an effort to dissuade it from getting worse.

"I suppose you're right, it's not the best place to have a personal conversation. You win this one, Prentiss, but I'm onto you and we  _will_ talk later. Okay?"

"Okay Derek, I promise." Emily refrained from arguing with the brotherly agent over the matter. She hoped she could buy herself enough time to organise her thoughts before having that particular conversation with him, after all, in her mind she knew he wouldn't give up, he was a stubborn man with a large heart.

Derek's phone ringing in the back made them both jump out of their skin. Emily's heart thumped hard as the cheerful tune rung out and Morgan scrambled to answer his phone. 

"What's up baby girl, did they find her?" He asked a little breathlessly. He paused for a moment afterwards and Emily could hear the buzzing of Garcia's voice gently from her perch in the front. A moment later he hung up and leaned forward to tap Emily on the shoulder. "They found her, they're bringing her in now, she's alive... They found her clinging to a buoy."

"That's good news. Let's make sure Hotch knows." Emily responded. She trailed her fingers along the inside of the door in the dark, looking for the handle. Her fingers found the cool plastic amongst the tightly woven fabric quickly and she pulled on the lever, opening the door enough for her to hop out. She whirled around afterwards closing the door with a loud bang, closely followed by the thud of Derek's door closing. They walked over toward the EMT's slowly. They could see Hotch speaking with the local police beside the waiting ambulance in the distance, though the quickly falling small droplets of rain obscured Emily's vision more than she liked. "Despite what Spence said before about Quantico getting more rain, we still managed to see some while we were here."

"That's true, I wonder if he's thinking about that just now." Morgan chuckled, his large shoes squelching on the long grass is he squished it down around him.

"Probably, he does have an eidetic memory." Emily allowed a smile to pass over her face for a moment. She composed herself quickly as they stepped up towards Hotch, who appeared to be finished speaking with his companions. They relayed the information Garcia gave them quickly, sparing no time. A small amount of relief showed on the older man's face as he received the news and he turned to brief the paramedics immediately.

Overhead the sounds of the rescue helicopter began as it veered toward the coastline. They found a flat patch of ground to land on and Kate was unloaded from the chopper quickly. The paramedics took her into the ambulance ran some diagnostic tests. Hotch, Morgan and Emily stood outside waiting patiently in silence for the paramedics to give them some news. It was ten or fifteen minutes before a short woman with silky looking blonde hair tied atop her head in a tight bun emerged from the back of the van.

"We're going to take her to the Hospital straight away just to make sure she's at full health before being up and around properly again, we've come to the conclusion it's the safest option at this point in time." She smiled tightly at Hotch, her stern features seeming strained.

"Of course, we'll have her parents escorted. Thank you." 

The ambulance left afterwards with the lights on and the three removed their vests as they made their way back to the SUV. Hotch allowed Morgan to take the wheel on the ride home which was amusing for Emily to witness. Derek had a bad habit of speeding but apparently driving with Hotch in the car made him considerably tamer. Not that Hotch seemed to mind the increased speed. Emily surmised that he probably wanted to get back so he could call Jack. The thought left a smile on Emily's face which lingered until they reached the police station once more.

The team congregated inside the main body of the station for a while to make sure Kate's parent's where escorted to their daughter and so that Spencer, JJ and David could fill them in on what progress they had made with Jim and Syd.

"We got a full confession from Jim, he confessed that Syd had nothing to do with it. The papers for his release are being signed as we speak. I don't imagine he'll be staying around here for too long. At least Jim will go to trial, then to jail." Rossi smiled at the thought, he swung his grey suit jacket around his shoulders and buttoned it promptly then looked to Hotch.

"I've decided for tonight we'll stay in a local hotel, I had it booked earlier. JJ I need you to ride with me. The rest of you can meet us there, I'll text the address." Hotch said, his eyes focused on JJ. Emily's heart jumped at the alarming prospects of JJ and Hotch's private conversation. It was unusual, to say the least, and Emily worried that her meddling may have gotten her in more trouble than she had been in before. Emily's face fell as the blonde's surprised face changed to a determined one and she nodded. She departed with Hotch without another word leaving the remaining four members of the team quite confused.

"I guess I'll drive then." Rossi shrugged and set off after them.

"Shotgun!" Spencer called, striding after him.

Emily and Derek shared a look of confusion and followed after the two men. "I hope everything is okay," Emily whispered with a frown, her eyes pinned on the ground rushing past beneath her feet as she walked.

"If it isn't now, it will be, princess," Morgan replied.

 


	4. Chapter 4

It was a short car ride to the hotel though it seemed to take forever with cars clogging the roads and moving at a snail's pace, similarly the streets bustled with cheerful active people around them. Rossi, Morgan and Reid chatted animatedly about how well the case wrapped up, filling the vehicle with a cheerful buzz that couldn't quite cut through the nauseating anxiety filling her every pore. Emily wanted nothing more than to bask in their latest win but her soul within her cried out for a resolution with JJ's complicated situation. She knew Penelope would have worked quickly and Aaron's want to speak with Jennifer alone indicated some level of success but that thought alone bred plenty of new worries in Emily's mind.

"Here we are, looks like they pulled out all the stops this time guys." Rossi chuckled, pulling into a lavish multi-story car park adjacent to their residence for the night. Many of the lower floors were already teeming with tightly parked cars and after circling around the fifth floor twice they decided to head up to the roof. Rossi found a spot quite close to the elevator, overlooking the hotel.

"Oh man, that looks like a pool. I might have to go buy me some trunks." Morgan commented, peering over the edge and eyeing the illuminated cerulean blue rectangle with a broad smile.

"They'll likely sell them inside," Spencer commented, matter-of-factly and after sharing a quiet laugh the group began to make their way over to the elevator. A few moments after Spencer awkwardly prodded the button to summon the lift, the heavy metal doors slid open with a ding allowing them access to the enclosed space.

Emily kept her face composed as they each filed in, however she noticed Morgan's eyes on her more than usual. She wondered if she had been outwardly showing signs of her distress and internally chastised herself for allowing her emotions to control her so freely. Seeing as she was closest to the controls Emily reached over and smooshed in the ground floor button before analysing the gridlike pattern created by the brushed effect of the metal they stood on. Around her, the present members of her team discussed tidbits of information about the suspects they had been interrogating but Emily was only half listening. She was far more content to stare at the floor and focus on the lifting feeling in her stomach as the lift descended.

The lift jostled as it halted, three floors above their destination and Emily frowned, preparing herself for strange people to crowd the small compartment they were situated in. However, she was almost pleasantly surprised to find herself face to face with JJ and Hotch as the doors slid open. Aaron exchanged a look with her, ended by a simple nod before the two agents entered the lift and they rode the rest of the way to the ground floor in a resoundingly awkward silence.

When the elevator once again came to a halt, this time on the ground floor, they set off together at a gentle pace walking as a group. Emily found herself feeling slightly hurt at JJ's choice to walk side by side with Spencer, deep in gentle conversation but was glad to see a small smile once again forming amidst her gentle features. Emily was sure she could see the stress still hidden in her features but opted to let the blonde be. She wasn't sure if JJ just wanted to spend some time with Spencer or if she was genuinely unhappy with her but she knew JJ would make any ill feelings known in her own time.

"You've been kind of day-dreamy today, Prentiss. Are you feeling okay?" Rossi asked gently, the tone in which he asked was almost fatherly, reminding Emily that there were, in fact, other people she loved surrounding her and she was indeed acting off.

"I'm fine Rossi, just a little tired." The response fell easily from Emily's tongue and she smiled at the aged Italian man with fondness in an attempt to ease his concerns.

"You know you can always talk to us, Prentiss," Hotch added, throwing a small smile over his shoulder. "Now I imagine everyone is hungry, how about we have dinner together before we get some sleep?"

"That sounds great! Right JJ? It's been a while since we've all sat down and had a meal." Spencer replied jovially, earning a wide smile and an exaggerated eye-roll from her favourite blonde.

"Hey now, don't get ahead of yourself pretty boy. We aren't all here." Derek pronounced, quirking one defined brow at the young doctor.

"Oh, of course, you would be the one to remind us of our technological overlord." Jennifer giggled, watching Derek's face fall a second later as he realised the blonde had led him into a trap.

"I'm not sure what just happened." Morgan pouted, looking helplessly to Emily, who shook her head and laughed softly in response.

"You just got Morgan'd, my friend. How does it feel to not have the hottest retorts?" Emily grinned, elbowing Derek in the ribs playfully as they approached the glass doors that would provide them entry to the hotel.

"I've heard the on sight restaurant at this hotel has exceptional staff and excellent service, I'm assuming we'll be eating dinner here since it's convenient?" Spencer questioned as they entered the foyer, go-bags in hand.

"Yes, but we'll stop by the desk and pick up the keys to our rooms first. Strauss approved three rooms so it'll obviously be two to a room. David if you want to share with me that'll leave Morgan with Reid and JJ with Prentiss. Is everyone okay with that arrangement?" Aaron looked pointedly at JJ, who shuffled from one foot to the other before nodding curtly. Emily felt her heart drop some at the display. JJ had never taken any kind of issue rooming with her before. It seemed like a purposeful confirmation of the blonde's stewing anger, which scared Emily greatly. With a final nod at the group, Hotch broke away from the group to retrieve the keys from the rather bored looking receptionist, who perked up considerably at the interaction. A moment later Aaron strode back to the group and handed out the room keys. "We'll meet back here in ten minutes, agreed?"

The team murmured in consensus and made their way over to the elevator. By chance, the three rooms designated to them happened to be on the first floor next to one another, so the lift journey took considerably less time. It seemed like only moments later that JJ was throwing open the door to their room, allowing a moment for Emily to hurry inside before letting it fall closed with a loud click. The room they entered into was quite large and spacious despite being occupied by two double beds, two armchairs and a solitary writing desk in the corner. The walls were painted deep maroon, the bedding and fabrics a soft coffee colour which complimented the dark wood effects of the furniture. Emily threw her bag down on the foot of the bed nearest the window before allowing herself to fall back onto the soft sheets, supported by the comfortable mattress beneath.

Her eyes snapped open a minute later at the sound of a door clicking closed. She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed, her shoes meeting with the soft beige carpet. She realised after letting her eyes sweep over the room that the bathroom door which had been wide open before was now closed off completely, presumably because JJ had required its use. Emily frowned at the closed door as if she could will the strange tension growing between them to disappear, though she knew it would have no effect whatsoever on their current situation.

With a feeling of defeat, Emily turned to the window to look out over the city. She wondered if there was ever a moment the streets were completely clear. A lot of the towns they had been called to became very quiet quickly overnight, but she had a feeling that would never be the case here. Too many people with too many things to do.

The sudden wailing and vibrating of her cell phone in her front pocket set Emily's heart racing. With a frown, she retrieved the phone from her pocket to see who was calling her. Her brows narrowed, seeing an unfamiliar number displayed on her screen. She held the volume button down, effectively muting her phone and slid it back into her pocket just as JJ cautiously emerged from the bathroom behind her.

"Em? Who called, is something up?" JJ asked, stepping into the small hallway by the door with her head cocked to the side.

"Oh I don't know actually, I'm sure it was nothing though," Emily replied with a small smile. She wasn't entirely sure herself. She hoped the call was a one-off thing, that someone had the wrong number and would realise if she didn't answer. If it persisted though, she might have to consider once again going phone shopping with Penelope.

"If you're sure," JJ responded with a half-hearted shrug. She turned as if to open the door but Emily knew this would be their best opportunity to talk. Stepping after JJ she gathered up all of the courage she could muster and attempted to broach the tension between them.

"Wait, Jayje... Is something wrong between us?" Emily probed carefully, blushing at how affectionate her tone became when the blonde's name rolled from her tongue. She enjoyed the hint of a blush that worked its way onto JJ's cheeks and how the blonde chewed on her bottom lip thoughtfully, a fire in her eyes.

"Part of me wants you to work it out for yourself, honestly." The blonde replied, a hint of acid lacing her tone. Emily flinched, her eyes immediately dropping to the floor as if someone had suddenly dropped a ton of bricks on them. It wasn't as if she thought it was an unreasonable thing for her friend to ask of her, but the manner in which JJ had asked rattled the chains holding back some of Emily's worse childhood memories, allowing a select few to rise promptly to the surface of her mind.

"I'm sorry." Emily murmured, feeling altogether too weak and helpless for her own liking. With what felt like the remainder of her strength Emily turned her head to the side, being careful not to look her blonde haired friend in the eyes and strode past her before easily slipping from the room. She set off towards the stairs at a brisk pace before the door even had a chance to close. She was sure JJ would be following relatively close behind her and despite wanting to at least try and talk through whatever problems they were having her instincts were telling her to give JJ space.

She took the steps going down two at a time, compartmentalising all the while. It was an immense struggle to sort the bouncing tangle of feelings within her but by the time she reached the ground floor, she felt refreshed in a way. She decided she would have plenty of time to worry about JJ's anger later on and that it would likely be easier once she had rested anyway. With that aside, Emily felt it best to just move on with the night and try to enjoy their "family" dinner.

Emily received some strange looks from Morgan and Rossi as she approached the group but after a moment of ignoring their questioning expressions the two seemed to become disinterested and the team made their way over to the restaurant area. It was a few minutes before a friendly looking waitress came over and assisted them in becoming situated, all the while Emily stood near Morgan and kept her eyes from passing over the blonde.

The waitress, whose nametag identified her as Ashlyn, found them a table at the back of the well-lit dining space in a semi-circle leather booth. She waited a moment for everyone to sit down, Emily ended up on the far right beside Morgan. JJ ended up sitting at the other side of the table beside Spencer, with Rossi and Hotch between himself and Morgan.

"Hi I'm Ashlyn I'll be your server for this evening, can I get you anything to drink while I get the menu's for you." The waitress asked, a wide genuine looking smile plastered across her face. She had soft brown eyes behind black thin-framed glasses which made them appear larger. Her long brown hair framed her heart-shaped face and flowed down past her shoulder in clean silky looking curls.

She went around the group, JJ ordered two colourful margaritas one for herself and one for Spencer who opted not to protest. Hotch and Rossi decided to go with scotch. Derek ordered a pint of his favourite beer and Emily ordered herself a tequila sunrise. Ashlyn gave a shy compliment at Emily's choice in drink, which eased the depression buried within her just a little.

"I'll be back in just a few minutes with your drinks and menus," Ashlyn said in a bubbly tone before disappearing into the midst of the busy restaurant.

"It's definitely a stylish place, the customer service here is nice too," Emily commented, registering Spencer's sly smile and the gentle chuckle he covered behind his hand with slightly narrowed eyes. The large room around the was decorated with greys, golds and blacks. The frame of the booths they sat in was a dark varnished wood, large grey tablecloths topped each table with golden napkins and silver cutlery. In the background, a modern mix of music played setting a nice vibe for their meal.

"Yes, it's definitely nice." JJ agreed, though her lips were pursed in an almost pout and her tone left much to be desired. Emily felt her heart sink a little and passed her eyes over the rest of her team, who didn't seem to notice the edge in Jennifer's tone. All except for Morgan anyway, who shot a vaguely sympathetic look, though his eyes screamed 'I'll talk to you later'.

"Well, I wanted to congratulate everyone on a job well done. The case will be put to rest and hopefully, after today, Kate will be able to move on with her life. There are a few things we'll need to discuss as a team when we get back to the office tomorrow but just now I think some time to relax together is well earned." Hotch smiled at the group and at Ashlyn as she bustled back over to the table with a large tray packed with glasses and menus over to the table. Emily watched quietly as each drink was placed and even offered a smile and a cheeky wink to their waitress, though she was largely preoccupied with the foreboding feeling nestling into the back of her mind at Hotch's statement.

"Thank you very much, Ashlyn, I'm sure we'll all be ready to order in a few minutes," Rossi noted with a friendly look before taking one of the offered menus. Ashlyn nodded in agreement and once again disappeared off into the crowd.

"What a nice waitress." Spencer smiled, ducking behind his menu to look at the options. "There are some nice seafood options."

Emily took a moment to peek inside her leather-backed menu at the list of mains. There were indeed a few nice seafood options though she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to eat any of them. Her mind settled on a simple rare beef steak with fries quite quickly and she placed the menu down in front of her promptly after deciding.

"So what does everyone have going on just now? I've been coaching Jack's little-league team, a lot of the other parents aren't overly interested but I enjoy taking part in the things that Jack enjoys."

"That's the way of the world I suppose, I'm working on the last few chapters of my latest book in between cases. I've been thinking about investing in a pub or restaurant but I'm not too sure yet."

"You know Rossi, I'm almost finished with my riverside restoration if you'd like you and I could look into properties sometime and maybe make a project out of it." Morgan offered, receiving a delighted smile from Rossi as he sipped from his glass.

"That'd be nice, just two guys doing some hands-on work."

"I've been trying to convince JJ to attend the lecture on innovative medical technologies, it's ongoing for the next two weeks so we might have that?" Spencer offered, shooting a hopeful glance at the blonde beside him who, in turn, rolled her eyes and gave him a small smile.

"I guess that could be fun, I haven't really been able to do much recently with a load of casefiles coming through our department." JJ conceded her defeat to Spencer's persistence and he let out a quiet squeak of glee while giving the blonde a quick one-armed hug.

"What about you Prentiss, you got any plans?" Morgan asked, turning to the side with an almost curious expression.

"I was thinking about asking Pen if she wanted to go shopping with me in between her many, many hobbies. Aside from that, it'll just be me and Sergio." Emily rested her elbow on the table, then her chin on the heel of her hand in an attempt to get comfortable. She was hyper-aware of Morgan tensing briefly next to her and made a mental note to talk to him in private after dinner.

"Is Sergio a new man in your life, Emily?" Rossi asked with a quirked brow turned full quizzical expression at the small snort of a laugh that managed to work its way from Emily's lips.

"Surely not! I think I would know about that." Morgan exclaimed, rounding on Emily with wide eyes.

"It's not what you think guys." Emily gasped out amidst giggles.

"Are you sure Emily, you're acting kind of strange," Jennifer added, her soft blue eyes clouded with a mixture of emotions Emily couldn't quite decipher.

"I'm surprised by all of you, don't you know Prentiss prefers the company of females?" Spencer asked after a moment, his expression the epitome of innocence. Emily's face immediately burst out in a fresh almost searing hot blush at his remark and she immediately reached for her drink for something to hide behind. Thoughts of JJ raced through her mind without her approval, adding to the blush that seemed intent on spreading down her neck and the gentle tingle of tequila didn't do much to quell her raging embarrassment.

By chance, Ashlyn reappeared at the side of their table to provide Emily with a reprieve from the gently probing eyes she felt lingering on her. She took each of their orders down on a small notepad and offered a refill for Morgan, Hotch and Rossi who had all finished their drinks. She disappeared again quickly, this time with their glasses in tow leaving the group to their privacy once again.

Emily found it rather hard to focus on the two different conversations that broke out between the inhabitants of their table, she could hear her name mentioned once or twice between Rossi and Morgan, the latter of whom was probably explaining their lack of surprise. Across the table, she was vaguely aware of Hotch and JJ indulging Spencer in one of his strange rants about the several books he had read during the course of their case. It was JJ's sideways glances and subtly wandering eyes that kept Emily preoccupied amidst a mixture of confusion and quiet happiness. She decided she would need to get to the bottom of their current predicament, she needed to find out everything about why JJ was mad so she could begin to make it up to the normally bubbly happy blonde.

There was something about the lack of the physical contact that came so naturally between them as friends, their earlier disagreement and the circumstances surrounding it that provided an extra boost of motivation to the dark-haired agent. For the time being she resolved to keep a short distance from the blonde until the 'talk' Hotch had mentioned earlier came to pass. She was sure by then she would have a greater understanding of what actually transpired on Garcia's end of things.

Emily was awakened from her musings by the return of Ashlyn, accompanied by another waiter. Between the two of them they managed to carry over all of the food and the drinks and after a moment of plate shuffling the two excused themselves and the team began their meal.

The steak Emily had ordered turned out to be cooked to near perfection it wasn't long after taking the first bite that Emily realised just how hungry she actually was. She took the salt from the middle of the table where Hotch left it after seasoning his vegetables and sprinkled some over her chips. The cut of steak was quite large and by the time Emily had just fries left on her plate, she found herself dipping them in the small dish of brown sauce in a bid to help them slide down a little easier.

"The seafood chowder was amazing. I could definitely see myself coming back to this hotel, excellent service and good food. Our room looks really nice too." JJ sighed happily, pushing her empty bowl away from her. She drained the last of her colourful margarita then sat back against the cushy leather of the booth and began playing with the ends of her silky blonde hair.

"It did look good, I'm fairly certain you could order anything here and it would be of similar quality though. I've heard they take their food preparation very serious here and the kitchen is immaculate as you would expect. I definitely agree with JJ I would certainly come back here." Spencer responded, pushing his plate to the side.

"Well, now that everyone is finished I'll take care of the bill, consider yourselves excused for the evening. We'll have breakfast and be ready to go for eight thirty sharp tomorrow morning."

"I'll stick around Hotch maybe we can hit the bar for a scotch or two before we call it a night. See you guys tomorrow for another working day." Rossi flashed a smile and made himself comfortable in the space provided by Emily and Derek standing up.

"I think Emily and I will take a little walk, fresh air sounds good right Em?" Morgan stated, one hand placed firmly on Emily's shoulder.

"Yeah, I just need to make a pit stop on the way out." Emily offered a small smile to JJ and the rest of the group before allowing herself to be led into the main foyer by Morgan. "I'm gonna pop into the small shop over there do you want anything?"

"No I'm fine, don't take too long now princess." Derek japed. Emily rolled her eyes at her friend and set off across the foyer at a brisk pace.

There was no one behind the counter when she entered the shop but she could see a small bell on top of the counter with a small sign beneath it. Emily sighed to herself. She knew the product she wanted wouldn't be displayed on any of the shelves meaning she would likely have a small wait before she could retrieve what she needed. She crossed the small shop in three steps and slapped the palm of her hand against the top of the bell, satisfied with it's 'ding' rung out soundly. There was a scuffling sound which went on for twenty to thirty seconds before a short balding man emerged from the back room. It was apparent in the droopiness of his eyes that he'd recently woken up and Emily made an effort to smile politely at him.

"What can I get for you, ma'am?" The man asked, returning the smile with little enthusiasm.

"Just a twenty pack of whatever cigarettes you have thanks."

"Pall Mall alright for you? That'll be 12 bucks 85, can I get you anything else?"

"Can I get a lighter as well please, thanks." Emily smiled and dug the amended amount of change out of her pocket then exited the small shop with her acquired goods.

Morgan was sitting on one of the plush maroon fabric couches that lined the wall opposite the main desk waiting for her when Emily returned to him. He gave a sceptical look at the cigarette packet in her hand but she waved away his scepticism temporarily and they left through the main doors and walked down to a small smoking shelter a couple of yards to the side of the entryway.

Emily broke the seal on her packet and pulled out the front foil, crumpling it into a small ball in her hand. She took a cigarette from the middle of the front row and sparked it while Derek situated himself on the bench.

"That's not a great habit you know." He commented watching the packet disappear as she slid them into her front pocket. Emily shrugged in lieu of a response. She was perfectly aware of the degenerative effects cigarettes had on the human body. In truth, it was a habit she had picked up a long time ago when she was first dealing with the emotional devastation caused by her work at Interpol. There were many things in her life Emily wasn't proud of but turning to this one bad habit when her emotional waste became too much wasn't something she viewed as particularly alarming.

"You could argue that it's better than gambling."

"You know what I mean Emily, I'm not judging though. I had an opportunity to talk to Garcia earlier, Spencer too. I have to say I'm a little bit worried now, I know you don't really know what's going on so I figured I'd talk to you." Derek rolled down the sleeves of his shirt, a sign that the night air proved a little too cold for the well-built man.

"What has you worried Derek? I had a chance to talk to JJ as well..." Emily trailed off, thinking about the short conversation. She closed her eyes tightly and took a long drag of her cigarette. She flicked the built up ash onto the paving beneath them and sighed to herself.

"I'm guessing it didn't go too well. I was getting that vibe during dinner, I might know why."

"I thought she might be mad because I went behind her back to talk to Garcia but since our encounter in the room back there I've suspected there might be more to it. Then on top of that Hotch said we'll be having a meeting..." A bubble of anxiety formed grew then burst in Emily's stomach and she found herself suddenly feeling very sick. She returned to her cigarette, intent on not letting her money just burn away of its own accord.

"Well, I like to think JJ would just talk with you if it were just that Em. That's the thing though, Garcia told me she was sent home by our higher-ups. I think there is some kind of investigation going on and they put her on temporary leave... She's not worried though before you get worked up. I'm sure Hotch will fix everything tomorrow."

Emily's heart sank to her stomach. JJ being mad made complete and total sense after learning this tidbit of information and she groaned internally at how stupid she had been getting Garcia involved in the first place. She should have considered how meddling might affect their blonde haired techno wiz.

"Fuck, Derek. I screwed up royally didn't I? I can't fix this on my own, I'm going to have to wait it out until at least tomorrow." Emily sighed, finishing her cigarette. She pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger while shutting her eyes tightly, willing the forming headache to dissipate.

"Em, I'm sure everything will work out fine, try not to worry too much okay?" Morgan pulled her in for a tight hug before gently leading her back into the foyer. "Do you want to get a drink or anything before bed?"

"No, I think I should get some rest, thanks anyway though Derek." She smiled as widely as she could at her friend in an attempt to ease his concern. She could tell by his expression that he wasn't quite convinced but he let it go nevertheless.

"Alright, goodnight princess."

"Goodnight chocolate thunder' sleep well." Emily grinned at the chuckle that rumbled in Morgan's chest then made her way over to the elevator leaving him to, presumably, take a trip to the bar before bed.

The hotel activity appeared to be dying down for the night and the elevator was empty when it arrived minutes after Emily jammed her thumb into the button. The feeling of moving upward in the elevator added to the underlying queasiness caused by Emily's anxiety but she ignored it. A minute later the elevator doors slid open and Emily padded quietly down the hallway. She slipped the key-card for their room into the handle and when the small light flashed green a moment later she quietly swung the door open and snuck inside. The lights were off and it appeared as if JJ was laying in bed. Conscious of her sleeping friend Emily made her way quietly across the room and slid her shoes, trousers and blazer off before sliding under the covers.

She didn't entirely feel sleepy, however, her mind was filled with thoughts of the blonde just across the room from her. She wondered what it would feel like to have JJ laying in bed next to her overnight. Would they fit together perfectly as described in every romance novel she had read? Or would it be awkward at first? Emily imagined that the latter would be more realistic. It had been quite a while since Emily had actually shared a bed with someone in that way and she wasn't sure entirely how she would react. It was nice to imagine though. In her imagination, Jennifer would be soft, warm and welcoming against her. She liked to think that's what it would feel like in real life too.

Emily lay on her side with her eyes closed, thoughts of JJ comforting and lulling her into a sense of security. It wasn't long before her body relaxed completely into the soft mattress beneath her and her light snores filled the room.


	5. Chapter 5

Emily's sleep was plagued by dreams of all possible terrible outcomes that could come as a direct result of her decision to talk to Garcia. Several times she woke up following images of Garcia or JJ losing their jobs, her friendship with the rest of the team dissolving as a result and by the morning she felt as if she'd hardly slept at all. Though with the sound of the shower running at the opposite end of their hotel room and the empty bed next to her, she wondered if JJ had the same problem. After a few moments procrastination at the thought of losing the collected heat in the small cove she had made beneath the thick duvet Emily poked her hand out and lazily searched for her phone on the small bedside table. She found it with relative ease and withdrew her hand, bringing the cold object beneath the covers with her.

It took a moment to unlock her phone with the haze of sleep still fogging her mind and after succeeding it took a few moments of staring at the list of notifications for the frown to fully form on her face. She had missed an alarming number of calls all from the same number that she had ignored the previous day. It was crystal clear to her what she would need to do in response and she made a mental note to try and talk to Garcia at the next available opportunity. She cleared the notifications with the click of a button after reading through them all. Her home screen indicated she had awoken half an hour before her alarm and with a disgruntled noise, she cancelled it before retrieving her clothes from the black go-bag at the foot of the bed.

By the time Emily finished gathering her clothes, JJ emerged from the bathroom with a whirl of steam. She gave a tight smile, gathered up her jacket, go-bag and phone then left the room without a word. The encounter left Emily with a cold stabbing feeling in her heart and she had to use almost every ounce of her will to ward off the sadness and contain it in one of the many emotional filing cabinets of her mind. She sincerely hoped that their meeting back in Quantico would help put them back on the path to the carefree easygoing friendship they had before. Being at odds with the gorgeous blonde left a large storm-cloud hanging over Emily's head. Whether she would ever have a chance to discuss the feelings that had been steadily growing within her for years or not all Emily really wanted was to have any kind of relationship with the blonde and she felt as if her current path would lead to quite the opposite.

When Emily finally finished up she still had an hour left until they would be leaving as a group. She didn't see any reason to stay in the room, seeing as JJ had already gone down to the lobby and the others would probably be there as well already eating breakfast so she gathered up her belongings, did a final sweep of the room then headed downstairs. She grasped the rough strap of her bag which was slung over one shoulder and made her way over to the elevator. Surprisingly it appeared rather quickly and she made it down to the lobby much faster than she had assumed. It was still early and not many people roamed about, those that did where leaving with suitcases presumably heading to catch a morning flight. There were a couple of hotel patrons dotted about the seating areas some with newspapers, others nursing steaming carry-out cups of coffee while they lounged. Her team did not appear to be anywhere in sight and after a moment of consideration, Emily decided to pop outside.

The morning air was brisk and almost burned her nasal passage as she breathed in. The morning sky was clear and blue with small fluffy white clouds of various shapes and sizes creating small amounts of contrast. Emily rubbed her hands together for a moment in an effort to prevent the cold from seeping any farther into her skin then after deciding it wasn't helping much she slipped a cigarette from her packet and lit it quickly, content to get inside as quickly as possible. The first draw filled Emily's lungs completely and she felt the pleasant tingling of nicotine rush forming in her body. The rest of the cigarette enjoyable experience and calmed some of the emotions raging in quarantines providing Emily with some peace.

"I didn't know you smoked, Emily? Is it a recent thing?" Dave's voice came from her left and she whirled around to meet him in surprise.

"Oh... It's, well it's not really something I've told everyone about if you know what I mean. It's not new to me though."

"I see, well your secret is safe with me. Shall we walk inside together? The others were getting breakfast but I decided to venture out into the city for some  _good_  coffee." He gestured to the cup in his hand with a sly half-smile and Emily laughed in response.

"Lead the way."

Emily and Dave walked into the lobby side by side and strolled through to the restaurant area together. It didn't take long for Rossi to locate the team amidst the many customers gathering for breakfast before heading off to their respective destinations. JJ, Reid, Hotch and Morgan were chatting animatedly and finishing up their breakfasts. Emily spotted an almost empty coffee pot next to an empty mug beside Derek and sat next to her friend, offering him a small smile as she did so.

"Good morning sunshine, you look tired. Didn't sleep well?" Morgan inquired, pouring coffee into the empty mug without being prompted.

"Not so well, no..." Emily allowed her eyes to flash up to Jennifer's face. For a moment JJ looked upset, with her bottom lip tucked between her teeth but her blue eyes met with Emily's own dark ones and the expression fell away from her face as quickly as her eyes darted away.

"Well, I've received notification from Strauss that we are needed back in Quantico as soon as possible so we'll be heading out when everyone is finished up here," Hotch noted, pausing afterwards to take a large bite of whatever strange toasted sandwich he'd ordered.

"That's a bit quick isn't it Aaron?" David asked, a hint of alarm in his tone.

"Apparently we've been called in later than we should have, Strauss stressed that we won't have any time to relax we'll be debriefed and have our meeting at the same time then go from there."

"I suppose we don't have any choice then, I'm guessing the call came after I left." Rossi sighed and rolled his eyes at Hotch's slight nod in response. "Of course it would."

"Well everyone is almost finished, I'll have this coffee quickly then I guess we'll be heading out," Emily said, pouring some milk from a small white jug that had been sitting on the table into her coffee. She added a couple of packets of sugar and stirred vigorously before downing the coffee in two long drinks.

Hotch cleared up the bill afterwards and the team set off to the car-park. They split into two groups in the elevator with Hotch, Rossi and JJ getting out a few floors before the other half of the team. Emily allowed Reid to sit in the front with Morgan driving. The fatigue from her lacklustre sleep had her feeling lethargic and she decided that trying to nap wherever possible on the way back to Quantico would probably be for the best, from the sounds of it they were in for quite a case. She was vaguely aware of Spencer and Morgan discussing fitness tests in the front during the ride to the airport, however, it took most of her concentration to analyse some of the shops and local scenery they were passing. For a moment she considered feigning surprise that her coffee hadn't helped boost her awareness but in the end, she decided it would take to much effort and resolved to sit comfortably against the back seat watching things go by.

It seemed like not long after that she was boarding the jet with Spencer and Derek, who had taken to asking every fifteen minutes if she was okay. Emily sat in one of the comfy beige leather imitation seats and relaxed into it while the rest of the team found themselves advantageous seats for conversating away from her. She appreciated the small amount of space they opted to give her. No matter what physical or emotional troubles Emily found herself having her team were always conscious of them, they were always understanding. With a smile, she strapped herself in and watched out the window as the runway began moving beneath the plane and then the ground tilted away and became ever distant as the plane took off. It was a little while before the plane flattened after reaching it's intended altitude and having reached the smoothest part of their flight Emily drew the curtain across the window, reclined back in the chair and attempted to sleep.

* * *

The jet touched down smoothly and Emily awoke to the bustle of her team getting ready to leave. She sat up and shook her head to try and lose the haze of disorientation clouding her mind and fumbled for her go bag which had been tucked by her feet.

"Are you okay Emily? It's just I don't normally see you get this tired and I'm a little worried about you." Spencer's soft voice alerted Emily to his presence and she stood to look him in the eye with a small smile.

"We've been on the go, I didn't sleep well last night it's not a big deal Spence don't worry." She placed a comforting hand on his upper arm and he responded with a crooked smile.

"Okay, I'm here if you ever need to talk though."

They followed the others off of the jet afterwards and each filed into two respective SUV's. Journeying back to the office took little time and Emily spent most of the drive focussing on the small knot of anxiety building inside of her. They squeezed into the lift together, few words exchanged between them as they began the mental preparation required for their next case. As they entered the office space Emily's eyes passed over JJ, noting her anxious expression and then darted over to the meeting room, where she could see Penelope tapping away on her keyboard through the open blinds.

"Penelope's here! Is that Strauss as well?" JJ's excited voice broke the silence between the group as they made their way across the floor.

"Oh dear, we should probably get in there." David sighed, climbing the carpeted steps that lead to the 'upper' floor area. He strode over to the door which had been closed over and swung it open. Emily and Derek shared a look, following closely behind Rossi who boldly strode across the room and took the empty seat between a deadly focused looking Garcia and Strauss, whose expression was unreadable. JJ sat on the other side of Penelope and Derek, Emily and Hotch followed suit filling the last empty chairs. Emily rested her elbows on the table and sat up straight, schooling her expression. Across the table JJ placed her hand on top of Penelope's, effectively stilling it. Their eyes met and they smiled at one another. It was a simple exchange that assured they were still on okay terms and Emily felt a small sigh of relief escape from between her lips.

"I suppose I should begin then. As I'm sure most of you are aware my superiors were negotiating for Jennifer to be transferred from our department. It came to my attention yesterday that two members of this team conspired to and succeeded in stopping said transfer. Needless to say, we are less than satisfied with the actions Miss Garcia and Miss Prentiss and were it the sole decision of my superiors you would both be let go. However, Aaron has argued desperately for you both and as Miss Garcia is still under a binding contract that will not be happening. We had originally intended for the Liason position to be discontinued and the work divided between the team evenly after Miss Jareau left and we don't have any intention of changing that too much, Miss Jareau will come back as a profiler and as punishment, Miss Garcia and Miss Prentiss alone will cover the liaison work. For the next few weeks, you will both be under a watchful eye so try not to make more trouble. Now if we are all on the same page, I have several other meetings to attend." Strauss's eyes met Emily's and flashed dangerously spreading a cold feeling throughout the dark-haired agent's body. She steeled her nerves and stared back for a moment and then Erin broke the eye-contact abruptly, stood up and promptly strode from the room.

Emily looked over at Penelope, her expression regretful. Their eyes connected for a moment and Emily could see the stress Garcia had been keeping to herself but also the underlying happiness at her success. Emily smiled sheepishly and then more genuinely upon seeing Garcia's own smile in response.

"You two got really lucky there, I wasn't sure I'd be able to control the damage. I know we've all grown accustomed to the make-up of our team, we're a family but sometimes the actions we take trying to protect our family end in disaster. I hope the two of you will be more careful going forward."

"For what it's worth, I'd have laid my job on the line to keep JJ here, I'm sure Spence would have too and I encouraged Emily to contact Garcia..." Derek slumped back in his chair his expression regretful. Emily watched as JJ whirled around in surprise, her mouth forming a perfect 'O'. She surveyed him with a thoughtful expression and then her blue eyes wandered over to Emily's and they locked into an emotional gaze. They held their eyes there for a moment, neither seeming to want to stop the flow of silent communication between them. Emily could see all of the stress, anger and helplessness that had plagued JJ and her eyes softened, conveying her own emotions to her blonde-haired friend. After a moment JJ looked away towards Penelope, her expression confused sparking Emily's own concern and confusion.

"We should just try and focus on the fact that we're all here, that's what matters," David added, looking around the group as he did so.

"Garcia, shall we start?" Hotch prompted, flashing their resident tech-wiz a small smile.

"The briefing! Yes, of course!" She smiled widely in return appearing flustered as she fumbled for the remote on the table and bustled to the front of the wide tv screen fixed to the wall. "You, my lovely ladies and handsome gentlemen, will be travelling to Manassas here in Virginia. We have three victims each of them died about a day apart Jeff Harding, Simon Rowell and Frank Ainsley all three were killed and mutilated in the same way, victims number one and two Jeff and Simon were found in the trees at the back of Winterset park. After the local PD moved in and shut down the area he switched his method and dumped victim number three in the trees opposite a local seven-eleven."  She clicked a button and the screen came to life displaying pictures of the three men, each with brown hair short at the sides and long on top. They had varying eye-colours and facial features but it was apparent their unsub already had a declared type.

"Mutilated you say? In what way?" David asked, leaning in as his interest blossomed.

"Ah, I knew you'd ask, I'm going to have to look at pictures of kittens and puppies for an hour after this. Okay here are the crime scene pictures for each victim. You can see the genitals have been mutilated just completely beyond recognition, the cause of death for all three was a heavy blow to the back of the head." Garcia shuddered as she cycled through all of the pictures. "They were each left unceremoniously relatively in the open, best guess is that they were dumped late at night. Oh, each of the victims lived locally as well."

"You don't say baby-girl, wow. This guy has some rage built up in him, look at all of the bruising around his stomach, neck and arms. It almost looks like controlled overkill." Derek pointed out.

"It's almost hidden by his shirt but definitely visible, we'll need a better look at the bodies to be sure. There isn't much care put into the disposal of the bodies, each man's pants and boxers are around their ankles possibly because the unsub wants them to be found in a humiliating manner, he wants people to see his work." Emily continued frowning at the gruesome images displayed on the screen.

"Our unsub would have to be physically fit to control these men and then dispose of the bodies. Do we know where each of the men went missing from?" Morgan inquired, his eyes meeting with Garcia's as he spoke. 

"I haven't been sent any information about last known locations, the local PD might have more information though." Penelope responded, blushing at Morgan's wide smile.

"We only have two points of interest just now, it'll be difficult to get anywhere with a geographical profile," Reid said, jumping into the conversation.

"That's true. This unsub has a lot to say through what he does though and with three victims already we can guarantee this guy won't stop until we catch him, there'll be more bodies." Rossi input, his features almost sorrowful.

"It's our job to make this stop. JJ, Prentiss and Morgan I want you to inspect the dump-sites. Garcia we'll need you to dig up everything you can about our current victims, we need to find out whether or not their paths crossed in the days or weeks before their deaths. Rossi and Reid, I want you to head straight to the coroners' office and find out what you can about the specifics surrounding each man's death. I'll head to the local PD and start-up communications and make sure our workspace is ready. Garcia, I want you with us on this case so you'll need your mobile tech ready. We'll take three SUV's to make everything smoothly, everyone head out now and we'll meet up and discuss our findings later." Hotch eyed each member of the team for a moment ensuring no one took issue with his plan then set off out of the room with Penelope hot on his heels.

"See you guys later everyone, drive safe!" Garcia exclaimed in passing, her pink heels thudding against the carpet as she tried to keep up with their diligent leader.

"I will never get tired of seeing that." Morgan murmured, a goofy smile playing at his lips.

"Derek's in  _looove_." Emily joked, elbowing her dark-eyed friend in the ribs.

"Ow! Watcher princess, we can tango if you really wanna tango but at least  _I'm_  actually in tune with my feelings. You and I still have the matter of your  _love_ interest to discuss I think you'll recall." Derek smirked, the taunt falling easily from his lips. Emily blanched at the comment, her dark eyes flicking over to JJ's surprised face. She looked away quickly at the small blush forming on the blonde-haired agent's cheeks and made a small noise in the back of her throat, willing herself to be anywhere else.

"Ahem, we should probably get going," JJ mumbled, her clear blue eyes suddenly glued to the table.

"Yeah, you're right. Let's make it interesting then, last one to the SUV buys food for the drive?"

* * *

 

A short while later they found themselves situated in the SUV sporting warm coffee and pretzels. Morgan for once seemed to be managing his speed, though Emily suspected it was because of the pain au chocolate grasped in his right hand that he seemed content in all but worshipping with his mouth.

"So do you really think I'm qualified to join the team as a profiler?" JJ asked, her voice laced with doubt. 

"Of course you are Jayje, your attention to detail has led to several captures and rescues and you have years of experience being out in the field with us. Really it just means you'll be doing a lot more of the hands-on stuff with us which you already have training for. On top of that, you have Hotch watching out for you, you shouldn't doubt yourself." Emily replied softly. There was something about seeing JJ so vulnerable that made Emily want to comfort her as much as possible.

"Emily's right JJ, you have plenty of experience and we will always be by your side to help keep you on track," Derek commented around a mouthful of chocolate filled pastry.

"Did you remember to get something for Penelope?" Emily probed, half smirking. She saw the not-so-subtle eye-roll Morgan gave her in the rearview mirror and chuckled to herself.

"You're just trying to rub it in my face that I technically got in the SUV last aren't you." Derek pouted, feigning hurt.

"Is there something going on with there that I should know about?" JJ asked, one blonde brow quirked inquisitively as she eyed the now sweating agent.

"That depends on what you think you'd need to know about and why you might need to know about said thing that may not even be a thing," Morgan replied. This time it was Emily's turn to roll her eyes at Derek's blatant attempt to overload the blonde and divert from the path the conversation was currently taking.

"Nice try buddy, not gonna work. Do you have a thing for Pen?" JJ pried, clearly interested in the dark-eyed agent's answer.

"Alright, fine. You got me. That doesn't mean it's a plausible thing, considering Alexis is still around."

"What! Morgan! You told me you were gonna ditch her like a month ago, she's insane!" Emily fell back into the back seat, her eyes wide.

"Who is Alexis and how come I haven't heard about her?" JJ inquired, sipping at her coffee and staring at Derek intently.

"Well, I met her about three months ago and things were pretty wild for about a month we were keeping it casual, no big deal right? Then halfway through our second month of seeing each other, she asks when we're going to get married so obviously alarm bells are ringing for me here, it was a strictly casual relationship then all of a sudden WHAM she hits me with her weird obsession. So obviously I ended things with her and a week or so later I met this girl called Maia, long story short I spent one night with her then the next morning I woke up with Alexis in my apartment cooking me breakfast and I have a voicemail from Maia saying the psycho threatened her!"

"Ah, I see. You've been scared to start seeing anyone again in case she goes full psycho." Emily said, nodding to herself. "That's logical but if I had to bet I'd say she's the kind of girl that has fleeting obsessions when was the last time you heard from her?"

"Oh I changed the locks that day, I haven't heard from her since but I did tell Maia her full name and address, she may have taken legal action against Alexis," Morgan replied looking thoughtful. "You're right I'm probably fine now."

"Sooo that means you could ask Penelope out?" JJ suggested with a sly smile. She placed her coffee into the cup holder in the centre console, plucked her pretzel from its brown bag and began nibbling on it. Emily gazed at JJ's lips for a moment, a small smile blossoming on her face. It was nice to be engaging in a conversation with the blonde after all their tense interactions and Emily felt an immense amount of relief.

"I'm not going to dignify that with a response," Derek replied, shifting gears back into terrifying driver mode as he finished his pastry.

It was around a forty-minute drive to Manassas and Emily felt as if she was once again on the verge of sleep for the last ten minutes. She hoped she'd be able to part from her team-mates for some privacy to smoke soon, though it wouldn't bother her too much to wait. In truth she just didn't want JJ to know about her habit, she wasn't sure how the blonde would view it. A large part of her mind told her JJ wouldn't care but the more conservative minority wished to keep JJ's image of herself as untarnished as possible.

"Here we are, Winterset park. Looks like local PD has kept the area on lockdown, that's good." Morgan commented as the SUV rolled to a stop. 

They stepped out onto the large patch of grass, the lines of loose dying grass indicating it had been mown recently. To their left, a large empty basketball court sat, with a sandy play area surrounded by five small trees. Towards the back of the park, Emily could see three local officers congregated on the outskirts of a large crowd of trees and bushes which served as the dump site. 

"Alright, let's get a feel for this guy," Morgan stated, unfolding the arms of his sunglasses and placing them over his eyes before starting across the grass. 

"We're not completely cool right now, just so you know Emily. We still need to talk." JJ commented before setting off after him. Emily sighed to herself and began walking, making sure to keep a few paces behind the blonde. The few conversations they had after the briefing had proved to give Emily unwarranted hope and she couldn't help but feel a little hurt at the blonde's ability to revert back to her prior hostility so easily. She hoped that after having a proper conversation that they'd be able to go back to the way they were before but a small part of Emily felt like that might never happen. 

After meeting with an older member of the local PD, officer Jamieson, the three were led through to the small clearing where Jeff was found.

"Local maintenance worker came across the body up here while refilling all the bird-feeders." Officer Jamieson gestured up at a nearby tree where a wooden box hung from a high up tree branch. "A lot of the grass and shrubbery looks like it was cut with some kind of blade, and back there the perp left a sign." 

"He left a sign? There wasn't any mention of this in the information we were sent." JJ noted, following after the balding man as he stepped through a tight grouping of trees.

Emily and Derek followed closely after, almost bumping into JJ who stopped dead with a furrowed brow at the edge of a large circle. Emily moved to the side of her friend in order to see what she was looking at. A large circle of shrubbery and grass was cut in a large circle, much like the disposal area only the unsub had used the cut scraps to form the gender symbol for female on the ground. Emily and Derek shared a confused look, not sure what to make of the signature.

Derek walked around the perimeter of the circle for a moment, looking for anything else out of place then came to a stop, one hand resting on the outline of the phone in the front pocket of his dark jeans. "Well, this is a weird one."


	6. Chapter 6

After viewing the crime scene at Winterset park and then the almost identical site opposite a seven-eleven only a couple of streets over Emily, JJ and Morgan stopped by a local sandwich bar on their way back to the station. Morgan had briefly called with Hotch and explained the unsub's newly uncovered signature. There had been nothing else of significance at either disposal site, the only information they had garnered was that amidst the uncontrollable rage that dwelt within their unsub there was undeniably some rationality and organisation.

"I don't know what to think about what we know so far. Our unsub is obviously filled with rage yet made sure that he had the time to tidy up the disposal site and make it into a display. He started killing suddenly but seems to have settled into a rhythm almost as if it's second nature. I feel like we're going to end up with a lot more bodies before we make any significant headway here." Emily vented, watching as her turkey and ham sandwich was being wrapped by a young looking girl. She reached out and took the food as soon as it was offered and slid a note over the counter, murmuring a quick "keep the change" before whirling around to accompany her friends to a nearby table. The small seating area was barren, a testament to the time of day. Emily peered at her phone quickly and noted the time. Most people would still be working, or getting ready to pick their kids up from school so they would likely have a good deal of privacy during the course of their meal.

"What makes you so sure our unsub is a male? If anything I think the signature points to a female." Derek pointed out, taking a large bite of his bulging toasted sandwich. A small amount of hot cheese dripped from the sandwich as he bit into it and his eyes rolled back.

"That must be one damn good sandwich." Emily giggled, the scene prompting a wide and genuine smile.

"You're damn right it's a good sandwich I got the works on this thing. Hey JJ, how's yours?"

"Yeah, it's good." She replied, one corner of her mouth twitched up in an almost smile. Emily frowned, her dark eyes searching JJ's clear blue for some kind of clue as to what might be wrong.

"Are you okay Jayje? Normally you have more of an appetite." Emily noted, digging into her own cheese and meat-filled sandwich with hunger fueled fervour. She had opted to not have hers toasted, though in retrospect she wished she had. It had been out of convenience and a need to keep moving and although it would have only taken twenty seconds she had opted to pass over delicious warm melted cheese in favour of moving along with their lunch faster.

"I'm a little stressed and don't really feel like eating so I'll probably just take mine back to the station with me." JJ retorted, finally managing a small smile though Emily could still see that the blonde was strained.

"If you're sure, if you don't eat by tomorrow I'll have to chase you down with chocolate covered croissants so, remember that." Emily joked though she found it hard to keep the mental image from playing in her mind. JJ looked down, opting to fold her sandwich back up in its wrapper rather than responding, though her cheeks were dusted a light pink and a small smile played at her lips.

"I'll try not to let that thought plague my nightmares," Morgan added with a laugh, finishing his sandwich in a few bites.

"Hey now, I don't know why that'd give you nightmares Chocolate-thunder, sounds like a fun time to me." Emily retorted, unable to pass up another opportunity to jab at her best friend.

"Watch yourself, princess, you're playing a dangerous game." Morgan chuckled. He wiped his lips with a plain white napkin then balled up the garbage tightly in his fist. "You almost finished?"

"Yeah I'll have the other half later, let's regroup with the others." Emily wrapped up the remaining half of her sandwich and stood from her chair before replacing it back under the table where it had originally been. They each offered a quick thanks to the young woman who had served them then exited the shop.

It took them little time to reach the SUV and settle in, this time with JJ in the back. They had little to talk about and Emily found herself watching JJ in the rearview mirror as they drove to the station. She sat relaxed against the seat with her head rested against the glass window watching out as the city passed by around them. She had an aura of sadness and stress surrounding her and Emily hoped that talking later in the hotel room and working through the tension between them would help to ease the blonde's mind a little bit.  
It seemed as if hardly any time had passed when they pulled into the station and Morgan parked alongside the two SUV's already neatly parked in spaces that had been flagged for them specifically.

"Looks like the Manassas PD pulled out all the stops to welcome us," JJ noted, her eyebrows raised as they stepped out of the vehicle.

"They likely don't experience much FBI involvement around here, it's nice and looks like they've been very mindful of what we might need," Morgan replied, leading the trio on their adventure through the parking lot and main reception. "There's my baby-girl. I think I know where our space is already."

Emily followed Morgan's line of sight across the bustling workspace. In a side room through wide-spaced blinds it wasn't hard to see Garcia tapping away on the keys of her laptop, several screens flashing, popping up and disappearing faster than Emily could keep track of, beside her Rossi and Hotch were sitting together sharing files and at the back of the room Reid stood noting things on a large whiteboard. "Of course, you would be the first one to spot her." Emily grinned, following after Derek as he set off across the room.

"Oh of course and look at the dopey grin on his face! I hate to say it Derek but you look like a lil puppy. It's kind of cute actually." JJ added with a laugh following close behind them.

"If you two say anything to her the consequences will be severe, you hear me?" Morgan stated, coming to a halt in front of the door to the room Garcia was situated in.

"Is that a threat SSA Derek Morgan, on two female co-workers!?" Emily asked with feigned astonishment. She raised her eyebrow at him, her eyes wide.

"No, SSA Emily Prentiss, that's a promise, so keep it zipped."

"Ooh okay, you win this round tough guy. Now if you don't mind I think we've hung around the door for long enough." Sensing the underlying seriousness of Morgan's tone Emily changed the subject and opened the door with a soft click. It swung open almost soundlessly and the three filed in before seating themselves at the long rectangle table provided to them.

"Now that we're all here let's go over what we know." Hotch began, effectively summoning Spencer to one of the remaining empty seats where he plopped himself down and eyed the team with interest. "Spencer, David why don't you start."

"Well the coroner didn't have too much to give us, C.O.D. was determined to be blood force trauma to the head just like the case file suggested, but there was one interesting piece of information we found." He looked to Reid and gave a small nod, effectively passing the right of speaking over.

"At first sight, there were no indications of any drug abuse by the victims personally or on the unsub's part but the coroner filed for a tox-screen and the results were interesting, to say the least. It was noted that each of the victims had high amounts of Sevoflurane, a drug commonly used in dental procedures and in veterinary practices. It's administered via gas which is why there weren't any visible indications."

"See Prentiss, this fits with the theory that our unsub is a woman. There were drugs used and the signature left at both dump sites is literally the gender sign for females, I think that's a pretty big red flag." Morgan pointed out, taking the new information on-board and processing it quickly.

"Normally I'd be inclined to agree but my gut's telling me our unsub is a male. We know they most likely experienced ongoing trauma throughout their childhood, probably for a number of years for the rage to manifest itself this way. The bodies were beaten to a pulp even after the genital mutilation, which looked to me like a number of strikes with some kind of pocket knife, that takes a lot of stamina and strength as well."

"Emily makes a good point. We can't really rule out either gender right now. Maybe that's what they want though, maybe the message wasn't a signature so much as a red herring." Hotch noted.

"What about you Penelope, have you found anything in all of your diggings?" JJ asked, flashing a glittering smile at her fellow blonde.

"Well I hadn't until a few moments ago, really I'm just trying to make sense of this and see if I can find the missing piece to the puzzle I'm currently constructing over here so if you give me two seconds... Aha! Yes! I found something that ties all three of the victims together! It was really easy to find all of the dirt on Jeff and Frank but it took a little bit longer for Simon."

"What'd you find sweet cheeks?"

"All three victims had police reports filed against them in the past three months by their partners claiming spousal abuse and they are each going through the courts right now for divorces. It doesn't stop there though, all three went to Irvin Law Firm, their assigned lawyer is one Jason Irvin. I've sent work and home addresses to your cell phones I imagine you'll want to bring him in for questioning."

"Alright, Morgan I want you Prentiss and JJ with me we're going to pay Jason Irvin a little visit. In the meantime Garcia I want you digging further into his history, I need you to fill Dave and Spencer in on everything so we can determine his involvement more effectively. Let's get a move on." Hotch retrieved his phone from his pocket pulling up both addresses as they made their way to the main doors. "JJ and Prentiss you take his work address, Morgan and I will head to his home. Remember we have no reason to expect him to be violent, he'll likely come willingly."

"Will do Hotch, we'll let you know how everything goes when we regroup," Emily confirmed the plan, taking the offered keys from Morgan as they made their way to the waiting SUV's. She pressed the unlock button on the key, satisfied when the lights flashed indicating the doors were unlocked then climbed into the drivers' side and swung the door closed behind her with a bang. A few moments later JJ slid into the passenger seat. She appeared to be mentally preparing herself for their current 'mission' and Emily decided it would be best to allow her a few moments. She turned the keys in the ignition causing the SUV to roar into life, she reversed smoothly from their parking space and pulled out of the car park, throwing the occasional glance JJ's way as she did so. "Hey Jajye, do you mind pulling up the address and keeping me right?"

"Oh, sure. Sorry, Emily, I'm just a little nervous." JJ responded quietly, clambering to retrieve her phone from her front pocket. She thrust her hips forward and dug around in her pocket, her tongue poking out from between her lips as she concentrated on locating the offending object. Emily found herself staring at JJ more than the road during all of this and when the blonde haired agent finally pulled her phone out with a triumphant smirk Emily had to pin her eyes back to the road, a blush forming on her cheeks.

"Well, you've no need to be nervous you have me with you." The sentence slipped out before Emily really had a chance to think about it and the two ended up sitting in silence for several moments afterwards, both blushing and neither daring to look at the other. Emily felt herself internally eye-roll at her own childish shenanigans and took a moment to mentally compose herself as JJ read out the work address.

"It's not too far, take a right past the next set of lights then follow the bend to the end of the road. Garcia's keeping me updated on Hotch and Morgan through texts as well. Apparently, Rossi and Reid are debriefing the local cops on our unsubs victim preference so they can spread the word. If we have any more bodies though I think Hotch will call for a press conference." JJ tapped at the screen of her phone sorting through the bombardment of messages while she spoke and Emily couldn't help the small amount of anxiety stirred by her mention of a press conference. After all, there was a fifty-fifty chance she would be the one delivering it.

"It looks like it'll be a long case, honestly I kind of wish we had something easier for your first assignment in your new role but needs must. At least you have all of us, do you know which house it is?" Emily branched off as she pulled the SUV off the side of the road and cut the engine.

"Yeah, it's the one with the sign above the door and the wilting roses on the left there. Also, don't worry, I'm actually kind of happy about it... I'll talk to you more in depth later when we get to the hotel." She gave a smile and release the clip that held her seatbelt in place before swinging the door open with a soft click.

Emily followed suit, stepping out into the evening sun the edge of which was just beginning to tease the horizon. A cold wind blew causing her to shudder as she closed the door over and she drew her blazer closer around her as she stepped up onto the pavement next to Jennifer. They shared a look and Emily took the lead up the stone path which led to the front door of the premises. It was indeed lined with wilting roses, varying shades of brown tinting their petals as the life left them. The sign above the door gave a similar vibe, hand painted with deep age cracks lining the wood. Emily stopped to observe it for a moment before reaching out to push the brass door handle down.

They swept into a small reception following the jingle of a bell presumably attached to the door. Inside, two walls were lined with four small blue arm-chairs, a table with a stash of magazines splayed across the surface and a water dispenser complete with small paper cups. On the far wall, a small window led to a slightly smaller office with a beaming young brunette male tending the window. She eyed him for a moment then crossed the room to grab a cup of water. For a moment she watched the bubbles rise in the clear tank as the water dispensed into her cup then when she was satisfied with the amount, she crossed the room to the small window and knocked on it once gently.

The young man, who on further inspection appeared to have light brown eyes, paused for a moment then slid one sheet of glass to the side and flashed a smile. Emily could see his flannel plaid shirt, unbuttoned at the top to reveal a simple black t-shirt underneath. There was something in his stature and the way he smiled that served as a warning to Emily but she couldn't put her finger on what was wrong.

"How can I help you, ma'am?"

"We're looking for Jason Irvin, have you seen him?" Emily leaned into the white painted wood lining the window as she spoke, watching the young mans' response. His chestnut eyebrows dipped in confusion for a moment before his eyes narrowed and he leaned back in his chair, appraising the two agents.

"What's your name, Sir?" JJ asked, stepping up to the side of the window to peer over Emily's shoulder. Her mind began to wander with her blonde-haired friends' close proximity but she forced her mind back to current events.

"Why and who is asking?" His tone took an edge and he crossed his arms over his chest, a clear indication he was becoming less willing to talk as time went on. His jaw clenched tightly and his lips pulled thin highlighting a thin silver scar that cut down from his lip towards his chin. Noting this, Emily gave JJ a look with one eyebrow raised, then reached for her identification.

"I'm Agent Emily Prentiss and this is Agent Jareau, we're from the FBI and we just have a few questions for Mr Irvin. He's not under arrest, it'd just really help our case to talk to him." She held her credentials up for a moment then slipped it back into her pocket when he seemed satisfied.

"The names Josh Irvin and I don't know what my brother could help you with but he's not here right now. He went home half an hour ago."

"Okay, thanks for your time. If you are his brother we may end up needing to talk to you as well, I'm going to leave this card here with you in case you want to get in touch with us otherwise we'll contact you if we need to." She slipped a small white card from her blazer pocket and slid it across the small surface. When he made no attempt to move it Emily decided it best to leave, with a small noise of annoyance she turned on her heel and marched across the room. At some point in all of this she ended up grabbing JJ's grey sleeve and half dragged the bewildered blonde back to the SUV.

"What was that!?" JJ gasped, jumping into her seat and whirling to face her fellow agent with a confused expression. She took a moment to re-adjust her cardigan, her clear blue eyes trained on Emily.

"I have a bad feeling about him, why so defensive when we just want to talk to his brother? Ah, maybe I just need some sleep." She rubbed her eyes as if to emphasize her tiredness then slid the keys into the ignition and started the engine. "Any updates from Garcia?"

"Yeah, Hotch and Morgan are on their way back now with Jason Irvin, we'll probably make it back to the station first though the home address was further apparently," JJ replied. She began digging around in the glove compartment as Emily turned the SUV around then popped up with a bottle of water and began drinking as Emily turned onto the main road.

They spent the journey in relative silence with Emily focused on the road and JJ focused on sifting through Garcia's onslaught of updates and before long Emily was parking the SUV in the space it had occupied previously. She made sure to grab her sandwich and began eating the remaining half as they made their way into the station.

"Oh, Garcia texted saying Spence got us coffee," JJ noted as she cleared her final notification and slid her phone back into it's hiding place. JJ's habit for stowing her phone away in her bra was always one that distracted Emily. It brought about a blush to her face and when JJ turned to see Emily's gaze she had to cough and awkwardly look away, a warm anxious feeling spreading through her.

She was thankful for the reprieve of entering their workspace and returned her colleague's greetings with enthusiasm, opting to take a seat beside Rossi this time. Spencer slid a carryout cup across the table with a small smile. "Emily, I got you a two-shot latte with two pumps of vanilla, I hope that's okay for you."

"Are you kidding boy-wonder? It's perfect, but you would remember what I like with that amazing memory of yours." Emily gratefully took the offered latte, flashing a wide and genuine smile across the table at Spencer as payment. He smiled back and turned to JJ after retrieving another cup seemingly from nowhere.

"So we've combed through this guys personal life and the three of us are in agreeance that Jason likely isn't the unsub, the fact that he has been in contact with all three victims suggests it might be someone in his circle of friends or family though so we have a new and how did you put it, Garcia, Ginormous! A new and ginormous suspect pool." Rossi stated, handing a list to JJ and Emily in turn.

"Unfortunately what with being a lawyer and volunteering at numerous soup kitchen and food banks in the area gives us a lot to work with. A lot of the people that Jason has worked with over the past five years he's stayed in semi-regular contact with." Garcia flourished her wrist gesturing at the large list.

"Are there any other details you got from the coroners that might help? What is our guys schedule?" Emily asked, taking a drink of her latte. The vanilla and coffee balanced out nicely and she found her eyes sliding shut as she enjoyed the flavour washing over her tongue.

"Coroner put the approximate time of death at between ten and eleven pm for all three victims, so if he stays on schedule we'll have another body in the next three hours," Reid noted, his eyes passing over the clock hanging at the other end of the room. He began fidgeting with his cuff and rifling through the papers in his files, eyes scanning lines of text a mile a minute.

"I'm going through this list of names but everything is slow going so if you guys have any parameters to help me narrow my search it might help." Garcia proposed, her fingers tapping away at her keyboard with an innate ferocity.

"We're looking for someone who probably was involved with violent crimes before so look at people with police records, specifically for assault and fighting." JJ offered, her eyes on the next room. Emily followed her line of sight to find Hotch and Morgan walking a tall brunette man through the desks towards the interrogating rooms.

"They may have also once been a victim of a similar violent crime that caused lasting trauma, it likely would have happened in the early years of their life," Emily added, her mind prompted by JJ's suggestion.

"Okay that's good but we have a lot and I mean a lot of criminal records here so it's going to take a while to sift through them, if you all go meet up with Hotch and view the conversation with Jason Irvin I'll probably be done by the time you're finished."

"Okay, great work Penelope, we'll leave you in peace so you can find your zen. Let us know if you find anything." Emily smiled at their busy blonde-haired friend as she drained the last of her latte and set the cup down on the table. They moved as a unit after, all standing up and shuffling over to the door then filing out. They converged on Hotch and Morgan quickly, finding them facing the window in the observation room with mild expressions.

"What do you think David?" Aaron asked, turning to meet the group as they filed into the room.

"We don't think it's likely that he's the unsub, we might be able to find out more about his business and the victims if we talk to him."

"You and I will stay here and speak with Jason then, I imagine Garcia is still working?" He paused to assess the group then continued when Spencer nodded. "I need to talk to her anyway about tomorrow, the rest of you are excused for the night, take an SUV and head to the Hotel. I know we're not far but I need everyone close for this case, I need your minds working on this as much as possible so we can keep the body count low."

"Alright Hotch, I'll get everyone to the Hotel. You two take care, see Y'all later."

Hotch and Rossi exited with a brief nod and wave, entering the room next door quickly after. Morgan led the remainder of the team outside to one of the parked SUV's. The sun was finally almost set and the surrounding streetlights where all lit, casting an orange-ish hue on the surrounding roads. Derek hopped into the driver's side and Spencer quickly jumped in the front passenger side, leaving JJ and Emily to hop in the back.

"Hey, do you guys want to get a bite to eat before we head to the hotel? I'm feeling generous so I don't mind paying."

"Morgan being chivalrous, it's a shame Garcia isn't here to swoon over you." Spencer let out a giggle, avoiding Derek's playful swat just barely.

"Watch it, pretty boy, don't wind me up when I'm about to drive." Derek smirk, turning the keys in the ignition. The SUV roared to life and Derek carefully reversed out of their parking space before pulling out of the lot.

"Dinner sounds good though, I'm really hungry. You guys want to pick up Chinese and sit in the hotel room for a bit? We're sharing with Garcia so we have two beds." Emily turned to look at JJ, surprise plastered over her features. It hadn't occurred to her that having Garcia accompany them would lead to awkward sleeping arrangements but the very real possibility now loomed over her like an amorphous shadow.

"There are around nineteen Chinese food establishments in the surrounding area, I'll look for the one closest to the hotel." Reid offered helpfully, fumbling through his back to retrieve his phone. It took him a moment but before long he was directing Morgan to a Chinese restaurant a couple of streets away from their hotel while JJ placed their order over the phone.

Fifteen minutes later Derek was emerging from the takeaway, a bag in each hand. He passed them through the back window and Emily sat them down in the middle where she and JJ could hold onto them. They took off moments later, Derek wasting no time in getting them to the hotel where Reid kindly offered to check them in. He spent a few minutes chatting to the vibrantly red-haired girl behind the counter who by all accounts looked smitten with him. When he returned he bore a broad smile on his face, the keys dangling from his fingertips.

"Boy look at that smile! She was totally into you man, did you get her number?" Derek asked, wrapping one strong arm around Spencer in a friendly hug.

"Wait, should I have asked?" Reid questioned after a moment of looking baffled.

"Spence she was completely into you." Emily laughed then took the keys to their room from his slack fingers. "Only two keys for us? Well, Garcia will need one so I guess we'll have to share."

"Oh, that's fine. Where did Spence go, Morgan, I thought you were holding on to him?" JJ looked around for a moment with a panicked expression.

"He heard what we said and decided to spread his wings." Derek laughed, directing JJ's attention to the main desk where Spencer was once again speaking to the red-haired employee. "He said he'd catch up, so let's go call the elevator, yeah?"

"Sounds like a plan, come on Jayje let him have his moment in peace." Emily placed her hand lightly over JJ's shoulder and gently steered her towards the elevator. Her hand lingered there far longer than it should have, only slipping away when they stopped in front of the elevator and Derek threw a knowing gaze over his shoulder.JJ said nothing in all of this, opting to quietly shuffle into the elevator when the door opened, a small smile playing about her lips.

It wasn't long after that they arrived at the plain white door to JJ, Penelope and Emily's shared room and Emily opened it swiftly with practised ease. The room inside was decorated with soft coffees and beige tones with plain white bedsheets on dark varnished oak bed frames. Emily crossed the room and snatched the small grey tv remote up from the glossy surface of the desk and switched the news on before promptly tossing it back down.

"I'm guessing mine and pretty boy's room will look the same, it's not too bad. We might have to get comfortable here anyway." Morgan placed one of their bags of food down on the desk before heading back to the door to let in a lightly blushing but overall happy looking Reid.

"When we finish up here I have a date! Her name is Vesta and she's studying criminology at George Mason University which obviously we have in common, I found it a little awkward, to begin with, because she knows who I am and what I do already but we have a lot in common and she's really nice!" Spencer grinned, striding into the room and plopping his messenger bag down on the first bed. "Is my chow mein still hot?"

"Yeah, here you go boy-wonder. I have to say I'm proud of you man, that's the smoothest I've seen you." Derek chuckled, offering a small proud smile as he handed the small container over to Spencer, who had begun to situate himself on the corner of the bed.

"She sounds like a perfect match for you, Spence, who knows how long this case will go on for though," JJ said, having grabbed her small box spring rolls and plopped herself up by the pillows on the second bed. Emily allowed her eyes to pass over the blonde's lounging form for a moment before she too took her food and crawled into the middle of the bed JJ had already decided to occupy.

"Thanks, speaking of the case it's almost ten pm now, I'm guessing the rest of the team will check in with the patrols and have them on the lookout, they probably won't be back until late. I'm concerned about this guy, he's very suddenly taken to a schedule almost as if he's been suppressing this urge for a while but something triggered it." Spencer opened his plastic tub with a loud pop and broke apart his chopsticks. He contemplated something for a moment before starting to eat and Emily's mind drew back to their current case.

"If we find out what triggered him we'll have our key to calming him down, but we need to find him first." She sighed after, then turned her attention back to her own food. After finishing off her sandwich she hadn't felt like eating much and opted for egg-fried rice with curry sauce. Taking the disposable plastic fork she mixed the curry sauce in with her rice and began to eat at a leisurely pace.

"You're all still assuming our unsub is male, I think there's still a chance they're female," Derek said offhandedly, slinking over to the mini-bar to grab a miniature can of beer.

"That's just going by the drugs administered and the signature though. I think the level of bruising and the fact that they had the strength to kill each victim with one definite blow points towards a male." JJ shuffled at the top of the bed before finishing her first spring roll and eyeing Derek with a challenging gaze.

"The bruising was post-mortem, they definitely had time to build up their strikes and cause that bruising." Derek countered, his brows raised slightly.

"You could argue that, but you could also argue that the sevoflurane would have allowed them time to inflict bruising before death as well, it would be easy to assume all of the bruising happened post-mortem." Emily jumped in, happy to agree with JJ's earlier points.

"What about the signature then?" Morgan sighed.

"It could be that the victims are substitutes for the unsub themselves and their true target is a female, or maybe it has something to do with gender dysphoria." Spencer offered, pushing his noodles about in his small tub as he looked at Morgan.

"Gender dysphoria? Alright, I'll bite, what's that?" Derek asked, setting his beer down on the floor before offering Spencer his full attention.

"Gender dysphoria is a condition wherein the subject feels as if their emotional and physiological identity be it male or female is the opposite of their biological gender. Some studies have shown that it can be caused by hormones not working properly in the womb, a lot of the time it's disregarded as a condition by families etc and some people go their entire lives with this condition feeling like they aren't able to make the physical changes to their body that would make them happier. Others grow up to have extensive surgeries in order to help make them feel more comfortable both in their bodies and within themselves."

"Okay, I can see parents acting negatively after realising that which could have created an unstable environment for our unsub to grow up in. It's plausible but I don't know. We can have Penelope keep a lookout for anyone who has anything out of place in their medical history or school notes that could point towards gender dysphoria." Derek agreed, finishing off his food as he did so. He downed the last of his beer in one long swig and threw the can into the small recycling bin next to the desk. "If you're done Spence, we should probably call it a night. There'll be plenty of work for us in the morning."

"You're right Morgan. Goodnight Emily, JJ." Spencer gave a small smile while gathering up his things. He awkwardly binned his rubbish and followed Derek to the door.

"Y'all have a good night, see you in the morning," Derek called from the door. They left promptly after and Emily could hear the jingling and scratching as they unlocked the room next door.

Emily and Jennifer sat in silence for a few minutes, neither wanting to start the dreaded conversation that would resolve what was going on between them. Then JJ sat up in the bed and gathered up all the rubbish. She shoved it all into one of the bags that had carried their food and threw it unceremoniously at the trash-can.

"I suppose we should talk then." Emily sighed, crawling farther up onto the bed to rest her head against the poofy white pillow.

"I just don't know what to say. At first, I was so angry with you. You put Penelope's job on the line as well as your own just to keep me on the team. It was stupid, irrational. It wasn't like you at all..." JJ trailed off looking to the side. She began to rub her left wrist with her right hand, causing a small red patch to form on the sensitive pale flesh that resided there.

"I hardly know what you mean," Emily responded, her brow furrowed in confusion. "Any one of us would have done what I did, I don't think it was irrational. I expected you to be mad, you should be. It was a risky move." She stopped, unable to find the words to express how she felt about the situation.

"That's just it though Emily, it wasn't anyone else who did it, it was you." A faint blush appeared on her cheeks and Emily's heart leapt inside her chest. "It made me think about if it had been any other member of the team in my position, would you react the same? I don't think you would... Honestly, I've just overthought this whole situation to the point where I've utterly confused myself. I don't see the point in being mad at you now, you were just trying to help and you're already being punished by Strauss with the extra work. Also hearing Derek say what he did, it kind of helped me cool off too."

"Well I'm glad, he was the one that solidified my reasoning and helped me go through with it. At first, the thought of you being angry was enough of a deterrent and I really didn't want to drag Garcia into it." Emily stretched, her muscles suddenly feeling laxer than they had in a while. She ran one hand through her dark brown hair and looked up at JJ with a small sheepish smile. For a moment Emily watched as all of the emotions in JJ's eyes melted into a look of adoration, which was quickly covered by the blonde haired agent moving to the main light switch. Understanding JJ's intentions Emily pulled the cord on the bedside lamp illuminating the bulb. JJ flipped the switch then slowly made her way across the room her blush darkening.

"Uhm. Penelope snores a lot, do you mind sharing a bed?" Jennifer asked quietly, stopping to stand next to the bed with an adorably innocent look on her face.

"I don't mind sharing." Emily found it hard to suppress the smile that blossomed naturally on her face as she shuffled under the covers and JJ climbed into the bed beside her. In all of the time Emily had been at the BAU this was the first time they had needed to share a bed. Despite the circumstances, it was still a momentous occasion to Emily and she fully intended to enjoy the closeness. "So why don't you think I'd do the same for anyone else on the team?"

"There's just something about the way you act around me, there's an unspoken sense of safety."

It was Emily's turn to blush at this statement and she almost felt like hiding her face. JJ's eyes lit up and the corner of her mouth quirked up almost in a smirk. "I'm just comfortable with you," Emily mumbled. She wriggled out of her trousers and kicked them onto the floor before bringing the covers tight around her.

"I'm comfortable with you too, Em," JJ responded, her tone affectionate. "We should get some sleep."

Emily pulled the cord next to the light, plunging the room into darkness in lieu of responding. There were a few moments of rustling as the two attempted to shuffle into a comfortable position. JJ half curled up on her left side taking up a large majority of the bed and Emily found herself squished up against the edge, too nervous to invade her friends' personal space. It wasn't until her hip and knee began to ache that she heard light snoring emit from beside her and feeling a need for comfort as sleep began to overtake her mind, Emily rolled over and threw one arm over the sleeping blonde. She buried her face in soft golden locks, which seemed to caress her face as she nuzzled into her friend. With the added warmth from JJ and the lovely scent of coconut hair products, it wasn't long before Emily too fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

The hotel bed was inexplicably cold and empty when Emily awoke the next morning and it took a few moments for her disorientation to clear. She stretched after a moment with a quiet yawn and looked around the room to locate her friends. Garcia's covers lay in a dishevelled mess atop her empty bed however the bustling blonde was nowhere in sight, nor was her favourite blue-eyed companion. In the background, she could hear the gentle pitter-patter of shower water spraying against porcelain, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw steam snaking out from the large gap at the bottom of the door. The gentle sound of the shower running reminded Emily of the pressing need to use the toilet herself but she opted to push all of those thoughts to the back of her mind, after all, there wasn't exactly any way she could use the bathroom.

With a sigh, she flopped back onto her side, her long brown hair splaying out onto the pillow and grabbed her cell-phone from the bedside cabinet. A small ball of anxious frustration formed in her stomach as she scrolled through the many missed calls from the same unfamiliar number. She cleared her notifications with one frustrated tap and, noting the time, decided there probably wouldn't be much time to shower. As she slipped out of bed and flattened out the covers (taking time to correct Penelope's covers too) she wondered what progress they could make on the case, Reid's theory had left her with a lot to think about and she only hoped they'd be able to uncover new information to aid them in their investigation.

"Oh! Emily! Uh..."

Hearing Jennifer's startled voice Emily whipped around in surprise only for her eyes to meet with a rather embarrassed looking JJ sporting a small beige towel atop her head with a larger matching towel wrapped around her torso. Her shoulders and collarbones lay exposed and small droplets of water rolled over her smooth creamy skin. Emily stalled for a moment, her mind still clouded with sleep, struggling to comprehend the situation she found herself in.

"I'm sorry, Jayje! I'll just grab my clothes and..." Emily exclaimed, snapping back to reality. She raced over to grab a fresh set of clothes from her go bag and then shot across the room towards the open bathroom as a deep blush engulfed her face. She struggled to suppress images of slender legs and pale collarbones as she wriggled out of her clothes and into the pristine coal-black suit and white blouse she had grabbed. Emily stopped for a moment at the bathroom door, her hand poised over the cold metal as she strained to hear what was happening on the other side. She had not heard the door to their hotel room during her short dressing fiasco however there were no audible signs of life outside. After a moment she allowed her hand to push down on the now gently heated metal and the door swung open with a soft click.

"JJ?" Emily called out tentatively as she peered around the door.

"I'm right here, sorry about before... Penny said she'd wake you to go down for breakfast, so I kind of assumed I'd have the room to myself." JJ explained, smiling stiffly as she rose from the bed- bag in hand.

Without thinking Emily allowed her eyes to pass over her companion, seeing her now was a stark contrast to freshly showered JJ and Emily almost wished she could go back to that moment and drink in more details of the glorious sight. Now, however, JJ was wearing a light blue blouse with a grey cardigan and black pants. Her hair was damp and hung over her shoulders leaving wet lines across the thin fabric. The outfit was pleasing to the eyes and Emily found herself staring a moment longer than she should have. "Oh, right... Well, she was gone when I woke up so... sorry, again." Emily smiled back, suddenly feeling rather awkward. "Er, shall we go and find the others? It was pretty late when I woke up."

"That's probably a good idea, Penelope said another body turned up late last night so I'm guessing we'll have quite a lot to do today." JJ began to relax as they moved towards the door in relative closeness but a familiar strangely awkward feeling loomed over Emily. She wondered if it was because of their conversation the night before, normally the banter and general conversations they had flowed in a friendly or work-related manner but their encounter the night before hadn't been the same. It seemed like a particularly bold mood had struck Jennifer and perhaps she had shared more than she intended.

A loud ding roused Emily from her musings and as she began to focus again she realised they had made their way to the large foyer. Neither spoke as they stepped out of the elevator, instead, Jennifer reached out with one pale hand and a smile on her face and gently took hold of Emily's wrist before beginning to lead the way across to the dining area. Emily offered no resistance, allowing the interaction as her mind reeled at the contact. They meandered through the propped open double doors into the dining room and Emily observed as her companion began scanning the room before making a beeline towards a booth in the far corner. It wasn't until they were only a few feet away the JJ let go of Emily's wrist, casting a sly smirk over her shoulder as she did so. Emily couldn't help the blush that started forming on her cheeks as she noticed Spencer's innocently quizzical look and Penelope's eyebrows, which evidently had attempted to retreat into her hairline.

"Well you two are all buddy-buddy today, aren't ya!" Garcia stated, surprise colouring her tone. Her eyes were pinned on JJ, which Emily was grateful for and in turn JJ deflected Penelope's statement with a smile and a shrug.

"Are you guys already finished eating?" Emily asked, her eyes wandering over the empty plates littering the large table.

"We are actually, we were just talking about heading to work," Hotch replied with a tired smile.

"Well, Emily and I can grab something later then, we can head out now." JJ offered, idly adjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder.

"If that's alright with you, shall we go then?" Aaron looked around the group and was met with nodding heads as everyone began to shuffle out of the booth. They each slipped their coats on and Aaron fixed to pay the bill before leading the team out towards the days work.

* * *

 

"Did they bring a coffee machine in here just for us!? Ohmygosh guys are people always this nice to you?" Garcia asked, immediately turning into an excited whirlwind and bustling her way over to the large machine in the corner of the room. They had just situated themselves around the large table in their private room each with their files in front of them. Emily could only roll her eyes and smile while JJ beside her let out a quiet snort.

"Some people go the extra mile for our comfort, yes, but it's not always like this baby-girl." Morgan chuckled, watching with a look of pure amusement as the bubbly blonde produced a coffee for herself.

"Well guys I hate to burst the excited bubble that follows Garcia everywhere, unfortunately, we have a lot of work to do today. Another body was found last night on schedule, definitely the work of our unsub, so we'll need to visit the coroner for the autopsy and tox screen reports. On top of that, the risk that the media will pick up on this is only increasing by the day so I've arranged for us to hold a press conference today. We'll also need to follow up with Jason Irvin, Spencer and Derek ran your gender-dysphoria theory by us during breakfast-" he paused momentarily to pass his eyes over JJ and Emily "-and I agree that incorporating it into what we're doing now at least as a precaution is the best bet. So, Rossi, you go with Reid and Morgan to follow up with Jason, see if he knows anyone going through a similar struggle to what Reid described, it's a long shot but we might get lucky. I'll be staying here with Garcia to prepare for the press conference so that leaves Emily and JJ to grab breakfast then head to the coroner's office." Hotch smiled at JJ from the other end of the table and Emily could have sworn he slipped in a sly wink before looking around the others to make sure everyone agreed.

Rossi, Morgan and Reid all rose from their seats and filed out of the room before disappearing from sight leaving the room rather quiet as Garcia sat pale as a blank sheet of A4 paper and Aaron watched on with mild amusement.

"Don't worry about the press conference Pen, you'll do fine. It's just like acting in plays, like your hobby, remember? If you need support Hotch will be there and I'm just a phone call away." JJ said softly, reaching across the table to cover Penelope's hand with her own in a comforting gesture.

"Yeah, you're right! I'll be fine! I just, need to be confident!" Penelope responded, though her face proved that she didn't quite believe in herself.

Emily offered a small reassuring smile to the normally peppy blonde before rising from her seat, her stomach grumbling in protest of its emptiness. JJ gave her belly a funny look, a small giggle bubbling in her chest as she too rose from her seat. As they exited the room Emily could hear Aaron begin to explain what would be expected of Penelope during the press conference and Emily couldn't help but feel bad for her friend. It was largely Emily's fault that they would both be thrown into this predicament over and over for the foreseeable future but at the same time at least JJ was still with them.

"Poor Penny, I imagine you'll be fine doing press conferences so I'm almost sad that it's not you," Jennifer commented as they moved through the station.

"Ooh harsh Jennifer, you wound me. I suppose I do have some experience with public speaking, but you know in the long run this will probably do Penelope a lot of good. I mean think of how awkward Spence is, but he still manages to get invitations to talk in several important classes and from what I've heard he's quite popular with some of the younger ladies. The more she does it the easier it'll get and it's a good skill to have." Emily internally squirmed at the thought of having to participate in delivering a press conference, though she kept her face cool and collected. It was one of the many things she admired about Jennifer, her confidence and compassion mixed with cool composure when she delivered official statements or gently questioned distraught families was truly admirable and often in the past Emily had marvelled over how the blonde coped with it all and was still able to smile.

"You just say that because deep down you're on the same level of awkward as Spence is and you're happy that it's not you speaking on live television," JJ responded. She let out a musical laugh shortly after that sent a tingling shiver down Emily's spine and brought a wide smile to the brunette's face. The exited the station and stepped out into the sun side by side. The bright light made Jennifer's hair shine bright gold and as they walked over to the SUV Emily found herself captivated by the gentle bounce and shine of her perfect hair.

"Maybe you're right, I am kinda awkward, I suppose," Emily mumbled as unlocked the SUV and slid into the driver's side. "Then again, I've seen you in action. It's understandable that I'd be nervous about living up to your kind and compassionate standards for delivery. I tend to turn more... How should I put it? Robotic, when I deliver speeches publicly."

"Aw, Em you're too cute." JJ laughed, placing her hand down on Emily's thigh as she did so causing the brunette's breath to stutter. There was a moment after where their eyes met and a wordless exchange passed between them. It was almost as if Emily suddenly had no control over what emotions her face and eyes portrayed, her usual composure fell away within seconds and all she could think about was how in that moment, she wanted nothing more than to kiss Jennifer's soft, pale lips. The moment ended abruptly when Jennifer's eyebrow quirked upwards and Emily turned to face the dashboard and slid the keys into the ignition in one swift movement, forcing her mind to focus on anything else.

"So, what do you want for breakfast then?" The brunette asked as the SUV roared to life. A moment later she was swinging out of the station parking lot and onto one of the main roads, offering quick glances to the side as she waited for her companion to answer. Her chest felt incredibly tight and sweat was beginning to form on her palms where they clasped the steering-wheel tightly.

"I don't know, we should probably just grab something to go. I was thinking a lot about the case in the shower, everything's really got me stumped and I just want to make sure we're putting as much time in as possible y'know?" JJ cast her gaze outside to watch as people and buildings flew past them. Her posture was completely relaxed and gave away nothing of her feelings on what happened moments before.

"Don't worry, I know just the thing for us then. I know this seems like a pretty tough case for your transition but that'll just make it more rewarding when we come through the other side, trust me. Between the lot of us, we're putting a solid amount of time in so don't forget you need to let your mind take a break." Emily smiled, casting her eyes to the side for a moment while they were stopped at a red light, her brief spat of anxiety slowly fading. She took the next left, exiting the main road and pulled up to the first fast food joint applicable to their situation.

"Oh don't worry, I slept better than I have in a long time last night. It's just hard not to think about these things when I'm getting ready for work." JJ's grin unleashed a ferocious blush on Emily's face and she pulled into a parking space rather abruptly, reaching for her bag as a way to distract from her glowing face.

"The drive-through is packed for this time of morning so I'm just gonna run in and grab a couple of biscuits and coffees if that's alright with you." Emily placed her hand on the door handle and waited for the blonde's gentle nod and smile before popping the door open and clambering out. "I'll be two minutes, alright?"

The door closed with a bang behind her and she rushed across the parking lot weaving in-between cars traversing the outside of her destination. The automatic doors slid open with a rubbery screech and Emily strode across the freshly mopped beige tiles towards the counter. A young black haired man smiled as she approached, having just sent a satisfied customer over to the seating area with a loaded tray. They exchanged pleasantries and Emily placed her order before handing over a twenty dollar bill. The boy, who appeared to be called Nathan, popped the til open with one hand while tapping several buttons on the monitor presumably to send her order before handing the change back over. She watched as several people worked in the back, wrapping different food items and sliding them into the wire rack in the heating cabinet. Two line cooks busy at work on the fryers, one frying and one seasoning and packaging. It was easy to get lost in the almost mundane realism of their jobs to the point where Emily almost missed their food being passed to the front.

The smell, however, sent her stomach into a frenzy within moments and she took the drinks holder before balancing the biscuits on top before thanking the boy who served her. Within minutes she was back outside of the SUV with the driver's side door open. She passed the drinks in and JJ set them in the SUV's cup-holders before snatching her breakfast.

It took a moment for Emily to place her bag down and situate herself comfortably in her seat. She closed the door with a slam and tore the wrappings from her biscuit, careful not to tear the small amounts of bacon and egg that hung from the sides. By the time she finished taking her first bite, JJ was scrunching up her wrapper and reaching for the steaming cup of coffee beside her.

"Don't look at me like that, I was hungry!" JJ pouted, a blush forming on her cheeks. Emily smiled around her mouthful of biscuit, enjoying the simple moment they were having. When she finished, she wrapped up her biscuit and checked her phone in order to make it to their destination without getting lost. Her brow furrowed as she cleared her notifications of missed phone calls and opened the map, taking a sip of her own coffee while it loaded.

"So, off to the coroner's office. We already know largely what we're in for it's just finding something new now that can help the case. We'll at least know for sure who the victim was and if our unsub left behind any more evidence." Emily noted, placing her coffee back in the cup holster and starting the engine up once again. "Luckily we aren't too far away."

"I don't really know if I'd call that lucky." JJ retorted, a hint of anxiety colouring her tone. "It never gets any easier seeing this stuff, does it?"

"Yes and no. For some of us like myself and Morgan, I think it did get easier for us over time. Or maybe we are better at hiding our reactions. On the other hand, there are more sensitive people like you, Spence, Penelope. Think of how many snuff films Penny's had to watch and how many hours of fluffy animal videos she's looked at to make herself feel better. We all have ways of coping and as long as you make sure to talk to the people you trust about things everything will be fine."

"Well, it's a good thing I have you then. You're right though. I've seen some things as well and I'm still alive and I love this job so I'll just find ways to cope." There was tiredness residing in JJ's blue eyes but her face displayed a small smile.

"You'll always have me, so no worries there." JJ's face lit up and Emily's heart fluttered almost as if it were trying to burst right out of her chest. Seeing Jennifer so happy made Emily's heart light and her mood soar and the way they had been interacting over the course of the past few days it was becoming difficult to ignore the feelings bubbling up inside her. Reaching their destination, Emily parked the SUV and reached for a drink of her coffee.

"Thanks, Em. You mean the world to me so it's nice to hear that from you." JJ cast her clear blue eyes down, a shy smile playing at her lips. Her slender fingers played with the hem of her cardigan and she looked up again, her expression melting into nervousness. "Em, do you think- what on earth is that man doing!?"

Reflexes kicking in, Emily turned to follow JJ's line of sight along the side of the building where they had parked. In the bushes a hooded figure crouched down, arms reaching up to push on the slightly open window. Whirling into action Emily threw her door open and leapt out of the SUV before sprinting over the path towards the suspicious figure.

"Stop what you're doing! FBI!" Jennifer yelled, keeping stride with Emily as they crossed over the grass closing in. Her yelling startled the man, who stumbled quickly away from the window and began sprinting full pelt towards a thin smattering of trees that lined the back of the property. They pressed on, ever so slowly closing the distance but as the sprinting figure hit the line of trees they where instantly shrouded by the cover of bushes and trees.

Out of the corner of her eye, Emily saw JJ slow her pace and whip her phone out or her pocket, thumbing through the menus with intense precision. "I'm going on ahead, catch up with me!" Emily called behind her as she peeled farther away from her blonde haired companion. Her work shoes gripped tightly to her ankles almost painfully but as she passed through the bushes she was grateful for the grip they provided. Small branches snagged on her clothing as she struggled to pick out the disappearing figure amongst the trees as they zig-zagged back and forth among the shrubbery with practised ease. They approached the other side of the small area of forestry rather quickly and just as Emily could begin to make out the occasional car passing by the figure darted past a tree and completely vanished.

With adrenaline coursing through her veins Emily quickly approached the site where the man had vanished. She slowed to a jog, eyes scanning around her as she moved towards the edge of the treeline. She could see a gas station a small way down the road but other than it and the road she could mostly see trees. She began to move towards the gas station when she heard a soft rustle nearby and what she thought might be an intake of breath. The sound came again, behind her and she whirled around to find the source of the noise. There was a glimpse of long, dirty blonde hair and stubble before a large heavy object collided with the left side of her face. Emily staggered to the side, her hand sweeping out to the side to find purchase on the nearest tree as her head reeled from the impact. The bark scraped against the palm of her hand but she felt nothing, pushing off from the tree and stumbling to the side to avoid another blow.

Emily's left eye throbbed and had swollen to the point where she could barely see out if it. The two paused, staring each other down as distant sounds of sirens drew closer to their location. The aura around him was beginning to turn frantic and, anticipating the arrival of back-up Emily seized her opportunity and launched herself through the air. As her shoulders collided with his midriff Emily wrapped her arms tightly around him, pulling him to the ground with her and sending them both tumbling down the small dirt slope toward the road.

"Fuck!" The man cried out as they slammed into a tree, conveniently halting their approach on the road. They grappled there for a moment, her attacker looking to escape and Emily intent on holding him there as long as possible.

"Emily where are you!?" JJ's desperate voice called out from nearby.

"OVER HERE!" Emily cried, desperately trying to cling to whatever of the man she could get ahold of despite her rapidly depleting energy.

"Fuck fuck FUCK! You stupid BITCH! LET GO!"

Somewhere behind Emily bushes began to rustle as Jennifer raced to their location and then, a searing hot pain broke out across Emily's temple, encasing her brain with red hot needles as the man's thick elbow crashed into her temple. Emily cried out, falling to the side as her body involuntarily ejected her breakfast onto the earthy floor. Her eyes squeezed shut against the pain Emily could do nothing but listen as her attacker's heavy footsteps faded away from her. She rolled away from the smell of her vomit and hoisted herself up onto her knees, fingers digging into the soft soil beneath her.

"Em, Emily! What happened? God, you're bleeding Emily. I'm gonna get an ambulance over here." JJ's concerned voice called out moments later. She felt the blondes cold, slender fingers cupping her cheeks and strained to open her eyes.

"Wha- No Jayje, he ran away... I'm not sure what direction but we need to find him." Emily's stomach turned as she spoke and she struggled to focus her dark eyes on JJ's.

"Emily, your eye is swollen and you have a lot of bruising, there's blood running down the side of your face for heaven's sake. Oh, you also vomited and can barely focus your eyes on anything so I'm ninety per cent sure you have a concussion. I was on call with Morgan when I lost sight of you but I told him what direction you were headed in, he should be here soon. I'm going to the road so I can flag him down, stay here and sit still until we can get you seen to." JJ placed one hand on Emily's back and gripped her upper arm with the other, then helped gently guide her to a sitting position beneath a nearby tree. Emily allowed her eyes to close again, her hand reaching up to cup the side of her face. She felt the blood immediately, slightly sticky but still fresh and her stomach turned again.

JJ bustled away and the surrounding area fell quiet again which served to quieten the pounding headache Emily had acquired. It took several minutes for the blonde to return with Derek in tow. They greeted her quietly and Morgan gently hoisted Emily to her feet once again, drawing attention to the various pains littering her body.

"Looks like you took a rough fall," Derek commented, watching with a soft smile as Jennifer moved over to support her.

"You have no idea." Emily retorted as Jennifer snaked her thin arm around Emily's waist. Taking the hint, Emily threw her arm around the blonde's shoulders and leaned into the blonde as they made their way slowly to the SUV.

"Paramedics are en-route. What happened to you guys?" Rossi held one of the back doors open while JJ helped Emily sit down, watching with a concerned expression.

"Well Emily and I were talking in the SUV outside of the coroner's office and I saw this guy trying to push open one of the side windows, we jumped out and pursued him towards the trees at the back and when I thought we might lose him I got on the phone to Morgan." JJ ran a hand through her long hair letting out a puff of air as she did so.

"I ran off ahead, I thought I could catch him but he obviously knew how to use the area to his advantage. I lost him, then he blindsided me. He got startled by the sirens after that and tried to make an escape." Emily's hand subconsciously found it's way to her stomach as a wave of nausea rolled over her. Slight movements, even speaking, was setting the world spinning around her and she felt overwhelmingly tired.

"Did you get a good look at him? We could get a sketch artist down and get his picture out. I don't know what he was doing or if it was relevant to the case but clearly, this man needs found."

"Derek calm down, the paramedics are here. There's not much we can do until Emily's been seen to and cleared to leave anyway. Why don't you go up to the hospital with her and make sure everything's alright, I'll go with JJ to check out the autopsy report we'll contact Hotch and Reid and let them know what's happening." David lay a hand on Derek's shoulder in an almost fatherly gesture then gestured for Jennifer to accompany him. JJ nodded in response, turning to throw her arms around Emily's neck and hug her tightly before moving to follow David through the bushes.

The paramedics moved in quickly afterwards, insisting on loading Emily up into the back of the ambulance. Derek offered some reassuring words and a small smile before heading over to his SUV, the back door of the ambulance closed over just as Emily was watching him climb into the driver's side. The journey to the hospital seemed to last an eternity despite the paramedics pressing questions about her condition but before long they were transitioning to the pristine white walls of the hospital. They took her into the minor injuries ward and then into a private room where she was helped onto the plain white cotton sheets of your run-of-the-mill hospital bed.

A nice older woman with greying, brown hair entered the room a few moments later. She quickly set to work stitching up the small cut on Emily's eyebrow and fixed the dark-haired agent with some strong pain killers. She also insisted on keeping the brunette in for observation for a few hours, with much protest from her patient. By the time the kindly older woman left the room and Derek slipped in through the open door to replace her Emily felt as if she could sleep for several days.

"So, you're not doing too bad then. Blackjack?" Derek made himself comfortable in the chair beside Emily's bed.

"Fuck off Derek, I'd rather watch paint dry than gamble with you again." Emily groused, plopping her head back onto the flimsy pillows behind her.

"I could arrange that if you'd like."

"Don't you have something better to be doing? Didn't you and David leave Spence with Jason Irvin?" The pounding in Emily's head had not yet subsided and Derek's antics were quickly wearing on the dark-haired agent.

"True, but boy-wonder knows how to handle himself. Tsk-tsk, Emily, trying to get rid of me. I'm afraid you're stuck with me princess, so buckle up we're gonna at least try and have some fun while we're here." Derek grinned and slipped a pack of cards from his pocket.

"Oh for heaven's sake... Fine, what could go wrong." Her voice dripped with sarcasm but she sat forward in her bed in spite of herself. Derek scooted his chair over to the bed and relieved the cards from their box. "Lay down the rules then, card-master."

"The game is blackjack, winner asks loser whatever they want no exceptions and the loser must answer honestly." With a glint in his eye, Morgan began to shuffle the cards. It was clear to Emily he had specific questions in mind, he had found the perfect opportunity to hold her hostage and wrestle whatever answers he wanted from her. She shuffled the pillows behind her in an attempt to get comfortable and with a sigh, she braced herself for the invasive questions to come.

 


End file.
